Smells Like Teen Spirit
by American Soldier
Summary: Inspired by the song. Faith's overboard and self-assured, while Xander's facin' down a new/old enemy.
1. Chapter 1

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.

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Xander sighed to himself as he walked up the stairs to the main hall. He could hear Jack downstairs, quietly muttering to himself. He knew that things wouldn't end that easily. Still, he was too tired to care about the future. All he wanted to do was sleep for a while.

He paused as he reached the doorway, thinking to himself. He had just had sex…he had stopped Jack and his buds from blowing up the school…on the night that the Hellmouth had opened…he knew that beast anywhere…if they'd succeeded…

All of a sudden, the sheer reality of what he had done came to him. He felt his knees go weak and his stomach churn. He…the Zeppo…the Donut-Boy…had saved the world.

He shook himself clear of this thought. For all he knew, the world was still doomed. No matter what his friends thought of him, he was bound by his own set of standards to help them. It wasn't for honor, glory, or even recognition…it was simply because he couldn't **not** help them.

He gripped Katie in his hand, having liberated the blade from Jack, and the axe rested on his shoulder as he walked upstairs. He approached slowly, as he could hear the sounds of battle outside. It was now or never.

Moving quickly, Xander opened the door and examined the hall. There were no demons present, but he could hear the sounds of their roars in the distance, echoing off the halls. He ran through the halls toward the library, knowing that time was probably not on his side. As he came to the hallway that led to the library, however, he could ran into three demons, each of them moving swiftly towards the library. He was behind them, so they hadn't seen him yet.

Formulating a plan that he would later describe as 'utterly stupid,' he tucked Katie into his belt and whistled loudly, getting all three demons' attention. They turned to him, roaring out in rage at him.

"Yo, She-Bitches," he shouted out, "Let's boogie!"

Two of them came at him immediately, while the third stayed back. He walked into the first one, driving the blade of the axe into her abdomen. He swiftly backstepped, letting the axe remain inside the first demon, then withdrew Katie and let the second demon ram into him, driving the blade deep into her ribcage and into her heart. Within a moment, she was dead, and he swiftly ripped the blade out of her, rising up just in time to meet the third one. She barreled into him without much care, and the two clawed at each other as they rolled to the ground. They rolled to a stop, with her on top of him, and Katie positioned at an angle that he couldn't work with. Sighing, he did the first thing that he could think of: he headbutted her.

Blinking away the pain that came from that act, he saw that she wasn't even winded. Sighing, he decided to do something else…he bit her on the nose. The demon back off for a moment, more due to sheer shock than pain, giving Xander just enough maneuverability to jam Katie deep into her side several times. She stuttered for a moment, coughing up some blood that thankfully missed his head by an inch, before relaxing as she died. He quickly pushed her off, and got back to his feet, retrieving his axe as he did so. He sighed for a moment, catching his breath as he made sure he was alright, before turning back to the library. Five more demons were there, looking into the library in what he could only describe as confusion.

Not even a second later, though, a body literally flew out of the library, sliding along the floor as it landed, heading back down the opposite hall. The five demons followed it with their eyes and seemed to communicate with themselves for a moment, before two of them headed into the library while the other three went after the body. Xander moved quickly, rushing after the three, figuring that whoever it was would need help.

He came down the hallway, finding that the person was struggling to their feet as the demons surrounded them. Taking advantage of their ignorance to his presence, he swiftly ran down the hall, raising the axe as he did so, and imbedded it into the skull of the nearest demon, drawing the attentions of the other two. He quickly drew out Katie again as the next demon rushed him, and he tried to run into her with the blade, but she saw it coming and dodged, grabbing his head with her hands and flipping him onto his back. She was on him in a second, but he raised his legs up, blocking her deftly as she leapt onto him. He pushed off with his legs, sending her into the wall. He made it to a sitting position when she came back at him, but this time he was ready. As she drove herself into him, he raised his blade up, embedding Katie deep into her stomach. She flipped over him as the blade entered her, swiftly coming out in a splatter of blood. She groaned out for a long moment before Xander came to her, raised Katie over her head, and drove it down into her eye socket, destroying her brains.

He sighed to himself as he came to grips with reality, turning to look around as he did so. Just his luck, the very person he had come to rescue was the very person he had rescued earlier that very night.

"Well, hello, stud," Faith said sultrily to him, wiping the dust and blood off her jacket as she did so, "Didn't B give you the night off or something?"

"Something like that," Xander said as he came to his feet.

"Well, can't have that happen again," Faith said as she looked around, before settling her gaze on him, "That's twice you saved my ass, X."

"Well, it is a nice ass," Xander said without thinking, stiffening up as he realized what he had just said.

Faith, though, simply laughed at him and made a show of looking at her own backside, before turning to him and saying, "Thanks! I thought I might be having a bad ass day."

"Think nothing of it," Xander meant to say, but before he'd even gotten to the 'nothing,' a blinding white light came through the library, forcing both Slayer and Zeppo to block it out with their hands. All of a sudden, the demonic cries from the library came to an end.

"Looks like the party's over," Faith said, "That spell just kicked in."

"Great," Xander said, gathering up Katie and placing it in his belt, "Look, since the fun's over, can you do me a great big favor and not tell anyone you saw me?"

"What, why," Faith asked, completely shocked by his request.

"The reason why they wanted me out was cause they didn't want me to get hurt," Xander informed her, "The last thing I need is to be grilled and chewed out about not following orders or something."

Faith thought about that, realizing that he was probably right. While she and B had had their issues in the past, she knew that B wouldn't outright try to lay down the law, but with Xander…

"No problem, stud," Faith said with a small grin, "But, you gotta tell me what you were doing tonight. You look like you've been through Hell and back since you left my place."

"Left isn't the word, Faith," Xander remarked, a bit of snark in his words, "'Kicked out' is the phrase you want."

"What, did you really think you were gonna stick around for some post-coital cuddling and talk," Faith asked, semi-disgusted, "C'mon, X, it was just a quick screw to relieve my tension."

Even though he'd figured that was what it was, it still hurt to hear it. Sighing, hardening his heart, he nodded and said, "Glad to know I meant that little."

"Oh, c'mon, quit being a whiney bitch," Faith said, her disgust growing, "Don't act like it wasn't good for you!"

"Of course it was good for me," Xander said, turning to walk away, "It meant something to me. It meant nothing to you, though."

"Ah, c'mon, don't be this way," Faith said, feeling oddly hurt by his words, "X!"

He walked on, not bothering to turn around.

"Alright, fuck you, then," Faith shouted after him, "Fuck you!"

Xander walked on, the need for sleep outweighing his desire to turn around and shout back. Faith stared after him for a long moment, before sighing and turning back to the library, figuring she could help out with the cleanup before going back to her apartment to get some rest.


	2. Chapter 2

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.

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"I want you to teach me to play an instrument," Xander said, sitting down on the couch in the commons the next morning.

"Really," Oz asked, an eyebrow raised as he contemplated why he was asking this of him, "Why?"

"I dunno, I just really want to try and learn something this year," Xander said, "It's not like I ever learn anything from this school."

"Point," Oz noted, but he realized that wasn't the real reason, "What do you wanna learn?"

"I'm thinking either the electric guitar, bass, or drums," Xander said, "Anything, really."

"You look like a drummer to me," Oz said, placing his hand on his chin to examine his male friend, "But, I don't have a drum set to use. I could loan you one of my bass guitars."

"That'd be good," Xander said, "Do you want money or anything?"

"No," Oz said, "Start tomorrow night?"

"Why not tonight," Xander asked.

"Moon," Xander nodded, understanding the meaning.

"Alright," Xander said, patting him on the shoulder, "Later, man."

"Later," Oz said, standing up to head to the cafeteria to get some food.

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Xander sat in his car during his lunch period. He usually had his lunch in the cafeteria or the library with his friends, but…he was beginning to wonder just how good of friends they really were. They had clammed up earlier when he had came to them, stopping themselves from speaking about last night. It was something he'd seen them do a lot, had done himself…whenever someone they didn't know came up to them.

"Hey," he looked up as Faith walked over to him, looking very odd as she sauntered over to him. Her stance screamed something that he didn't think he'd ever see from her: nervousness.

"Hi," Xander replied, looking at her, "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Faith said, "Mind if I sit?"

"Knock yourself out," Xander said, picking up his crappy burger and taking a bite out of it.

Faith quickly sat down in the passenger seat, taking a few fries from his styrofoam plate as she did so, earning a glare from him.

"What, I can't have a fry," she asked sweetly.

"…Sure," Xander said, shrugging, and she took almost half the fries from him, "Hey! I agreed to 'a fry,' not 'all the fries!'"

"I'm a Slayer, I got a big metabolism," Faith said, happily munching on his fries.

"I'm a growin' boy, I need food," Xander replied, snatching a few fries out of her hand and quickly eating them.

"Whatever," Faith said, "You gonna eat that?"

Xander grumbled, but broke the burger in half, handing the other half to her.

"Score," Faith said, happily munching on her ill-gotten food.

"So, Faith," Xander said conversationally, "What are you doing here?"

"Can't a girl just come and visit her bud," Faith said.

"We're not buds," Xander replied, being completely serious, "We're not even friends. We're, like, pseudo-acquaintances."

"What," Faith asked, genuinely perturbed, "I thought we were buds."

"You've proven very well that we aren't," Xander replied, tensing as he did so.

"Oh, Jesus Christ, are you still on about last night," Faith was bewildered, "Dude, it was a good time, nothing more! Don't act like it was some big romantic thing, ok!?"

"It's not that," Xander said, "Well, not just that. It's the fact that it meant almost nothing to you. I mean, ok, so it was a fling. I can live with that. But, the fact that you don't seem to care…it kinda makes me wonder whether or not you even give a shit about me."

"Oh, c'mon," Faith said, exasperated, "So, what, just cause we screwed, you think we're supposed to be all buddy-buddy now!"

"Faith," Xander sighed, "It was my first time. That's supposed to mean something."

"Yeah, well, screw you," Faith replied, leaning back in her seat as she finished her food, "My first time sucked, so, you can take that crap and shove it up your ass!"

Xander thought for a moment. To him, what happened last night was something special, something to be remembered. To her, it was a simple fuck with a guy that she barely even knew, let alone cared for. His thoughts led him back to the time when he and Faith had teamed up to take out Angel. She had thrown him into a brick wall rather than listen to him…

He sighed, deciding that she was right. She didn't have any reason to really give a crap about him…after all, he'd never really given a crap about her.

Besides, he had his own reasoning to question behind their little romp last night.

"You know what," Xander said, "You're right. It was just sex. And, you're right, I shouldn't be acting this way. It was a good time, nothing more. Friends?"

He extended his hand to her. Faith stared at him, not sure what to make of this, before deciding to just shake his hand and say, "Sure."

"Great," Xander said, "So, why'd you come to see me?"

"I told you last night, I wanna hear why you were out last night," Faith explained.

"…You feel up to a drive," Xander asked, looking into his pants for his keys.

"Where're we going," Faith asked, not really caring, just curious.

"We," Xander said, starting up the car, "Are going drive around Sunnydale till I feel like stopping for gas. And, while we're at it, I'll tell you my story. Deal?"

Faith shrugged and said, "Deal. Just drop me off at my place whenever you're finished."

"Deal," Xander replied, pulling out of his space and heading off on the road as the radio started blaring out _The Offspring's Come Out And Play_.

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On the other side of the lot, Jack O'Toole stared after Xander's car, his eyes alight with rage. He shrugged his arm, ignoring the pain that came with it. He'd barely gotten away from the werewolf with his life, but had gotten most of his left arm ripped up by the beast. Fortunately, it hadn't bit him, merely mauled him. Still, it wouldn't heal, on account of his being dead.

"I'll get you, Harris," Jack muttered to himself, "I want my knife back."


	3. Chapter 3

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.

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"Wow, sounds like you had one Hell of a night," Faith remarked as Xander pulled into a sports bar called _Dave's Bar and Grill_, "What's this place?"

"Sports bar my Uncle Rory likes to hang out at," Xander said, parking and turning off the car as he did so, "We're getting some real food. That cafeteria shit didn't fill me at all."

"I don't have money," Faith said, sounding slightly defensive as she did so.

"On me," Xander said, "Consider it a 'thank you' for not telling the guys I was there last night."

"…Ok," Faith said, getting out of the vehicle as she did so, "I don't want charity."

"It ain't," Xander said, opening the door for her.

Faith entered the bar and was assaulted with the smells of alcohol and meat, along with some vomit. She looked around quickly: the place was pretty much what any sports bar looked like, with TV's all over the walls with different games and events on, several pool tables spread out amongst the dining tables, a dart board, even a few tables set up for poker.

Xander and Faith sat down in a booth, both putting their feet up as they did so, and waited for the waitress to come. Shortly before an uncomfortable silence washed over them, the waitress came, setting down two menus for them.

"Welcome to Dave's Bar and Grill," she said, barely paying attention to them, "Can I take you…"

She paused as she looked at them, specifically Xander, and went pale as she saw him. Xander looked up at as he realized she had paused, and also paled slightly upon seeing her.

"Ooh, this should be good," Faith said to herself, smiling and putting the menu away as she sat back to enjoy the mayhem, "I assume you two know each other?"

"…You could say that," Xander replied, shaking himself as he did so, "Hello, Heidi."

Heidi Barrie shuddered at his voice, memories that had haunted her for years coming back in a single blow.

"Xander," she returned stiffly, with barely concealed anger.

"How've you been," Xander asked, "It's been a while…"

"Yeah, about two years," Heidi replied, raking a hand through her short blonde hair to compose herself.

"So, what's the what," Faith asked, ignoring common courtesy to have some fun, "You two exes? There some sordid story I wanna hear about?"

"We're not exes," Xander explained, or tried to, "Um…"

"We used to be friends," Heidi explained, evening her tone and directing her voice at Xander, "We had a falling out. Right?"

Xander stared at her for a moment, then nodded, saying, "Right."

"Um, can I say something," Faith interjected, and when they both looked at her, she said, "Do I look like an idiot? There's dirt, and I wanna hear it!"

"I don't know who the fuck you are," Heidi responded, slamming the menus on the table, "But, you can take your crap and shove it up your ass!"

"Heidi," all three turned as a balding man came up behind them, "These two giving you problems?"

"Yeah, yeah they are," Heidi said, practically growling, "I knew these two assholes in high school, and they won't stop flinging shit at me!"

"The Hell are you talking about, bitch," Faith shouted, standing up in her booth.

"Stop," Xander said, getting up and between the two, "Stop! Look, we'll get outta here. I'm sorry about this."

"…I think it would be best if you didn't come back here," the man 'advised,' turning to Heidi as he did so, "Come to my office when you get through cleaning your area."

"Yes, Sir," Heidi muttered, glaring at both Faith and Xander as she did so.

"We're going," Xander said, getting up as he did so.

Faith glared at Heidi for a moment, before shrugging and getting out of the booth, following Xander as he headed to the car.

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"What the Fuck was that, Faith," Xander demanded of her as they left the bar.

"That was me trying to have some fun," Faith said back, not liking his tone as she slid into her seat, "The bitch got defensive as Hell for no reason!! And she outright lied about it, too!!"

"So," Xander said back, getting into the car, "Did you ever think that, oh, I dunno, IT WASN'T ANY OF YOUR GODDAMNED BUSINESS!!"

Faith literally jumped back in her seat, seemingly trying to melt into his car. Xander glared at her for a long moment, before he noticed something. He'd thought that he'd seen it before…while he and Willow had been talking to her, while they'd…fucked…but, he could see it now…clear as day.

"…I'm sorry," Xander said to her, backing down and melting into his seat, letting her know that he wouldn't start again, "It's just…she's been through a lot because of…because of what happened to us."

Faith stared at him as she straightened up, falling back into her tough girl mask.

"That don't mean shit to me," Faith said, trying to be tough but showing weakness as she spoke, "You speak to me like that again, and I'll kill you."

"I'm sorry," Xander repeated, "It's just…do you remember hearing that I've been possessed before?"

"Yeah, by a soldier on Halloween, right," Faith asked, having heard the story from Willow.

"That happened, but it wasn't my first possession," Xander said, "My first possession…happened two years ago, at the Sunnydale Zoo. Heidi and her friends were the mean kids of the school…they cornered a kid and taunted him to death. I went in, got him out, and…"

"What happened," Faith asked, sensing the seriousness of the situation.

"…All five of us were possessed…by hyenas," Xander said.

"Those things from the _Lion King_," Faith wondered.

"Yeah, but worse," Xander said, his voice raw with emotion, "I did some things while I was possessed…things that I wish to God I could take back…but, Heidi and her friends got off worse than I ever could imagine."

"What happened," Faith asked again, transfixed by his state of mind.

"…They…killed our principal," Xander said, a tear coming to his eye, "They ate him…"

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Heidi walked out the back of the bar a little over an hour later, cussing up a storm as she headed for her car. That brunette bitch had gotten her fired, and she had needed that job so badly! It was hard as Hell to get a job without a high school diploma, let alone when you have as much emotional baggage as she did.

She closed her eyes, opening them up quickly as she saw his face again.

Life hadn't been easy for any of her friends since…IT happened. They'd all dropped out, made their way to different places. Kyle was in LA, doing gay porn to get by. Tor was the only one that she didn't know about. He'd disappeared about a week later, never to be seen again. Rhonda, though, was the only one to get anywhere. She had studied to become a chemist before IT happened. With that background, she'd gotten into the Sunnydale drug business shortly after. Far as she knew, Rhonda didn't use, but you could never be sure. The drug, though, was something else. It was part ecstasy, part something else that she had no idea about. She'd found a batch of it in her mom's house, back when she was dating some guy named 'Ted,' mixed in with some cookies. One night, they'd shared some of those cookies and spent the rest of the night in a daze. They weren't powerful, not by a cookie, but they'd each eaten at least ten in a go.

Her drugs sold fast, and they technically weren't illegal because they were created with stuff that could be bought over the counter. At least, they weren't illegal yet. With the drug money, Rhonda had been able to buy a place in town, and had gotten a job as an assistant manager at one of the mall stores, courtesy of the owner who was a regular user. Still, Heidi didn't mind getting high on occasion, but she was very wary about crossing the law. After all, she was a…

She didn't continue that thought, choosing instead to pull out a cigarette, lighting it as she did so. She leaned against her beat-up lemon car and took a few, long drags of it, before sighing and dropping it, stepping on it as she did so.

She got into her car and buckled up, preparing to start it when she felt something cold and sharp touch her neck.

_Oh, God_, she thought to herself.

"Keep silent and you won't die," a grim, but familiar voice whispered to her.

Risking it, Heidi looking into the rear mirror, and gasped as she recognized the face.

"O'Toole," she muttered, "What the Hell-"

"Didn't you hear me, bitch," Jack muttered, pressing his second-favorite knife into her neck, "Shut up, only speak when spoken to."

Heidi kept silent, silently praying for her life as…IT rattled in her mind, begging to be let loose.

"Harris and the girl," Jack whispered, "What did they say to you to get you so riled up?"

"It's a long story," Heidi said, hoping to make him get bored and leave.

"Time is all I have," Jack whispered, pressing the blade harder into her neck, drawing blood, "Talk."

Heidi gulped before quickly launching into her story. All the while, Jack kept silent, his gaze changing from contempt to surprise to resentment until, finally, he settled for a morosely satisfied look.

"He cost you your job," Jack whispered to her, "He cost you your friends. He cost you your future. He made you a murderess. You must hate him."

She did. She didn't even try to deny it, merely kept silent, which was enough of an answer for O'Toole.

"Don't you want vindication," Jack whispered to her.

"Yes," Heidi said, even thought IT was telling her to be subservient, to bow to the will of the Alpha…she had rage, though, and that rage was enough to block it out, "What did you have in mind?"

Jack took the blade from her neck, letting her rub it as the blood started to slow. He leaned up to her and gently kissed her neck around the blood, chilling her to the bone.

"You want vengeance," he whispered, "I want vengeance for what he did to me and my friends. Are you in?"

"…Yes," Heidi whispered, out of anger, fear, and hatred, "Yes."

"We'll kill him," Jack whispered to her, reaching down to the seat as he did so, "And any who get in our way. Agreed?"

"…Yeah," Heidi muttered, "What do you got planned?"

"First things first," Jack whispered, "You and me gotta get on the same page."

"And, how do we do that," Heidi asked.

"…You gotta die," Jack moved faster than she thought possible, plunging the needle directly into her neck, filling her body with poison as he pressed it into her. Within minutes, she was dead. He got out and opened the front door, easily lifting her body and carrying it to the trunk. He opened it with her keys and placed her roughly inside. He closed it up and got back inside, cranking it up as he did so. He tossed her registration back into the glove compartment, grateful that she was the only Heidi in the employee parking area, and easily pulled out the driveway.


	4. Chapter 4

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.

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Xander pulled into Faith's motel, coming to a stop in the same parking lot that…he'd parked in last night.

"…Wow," Faith muttered to herself, "You really…tried to rape B?"

"Tried to," Xander reminded her, "I didn't do it…"

"Damn, X," Faith muttered, "I never pegged you for one of those-"

"I'm not," he interrupted her, "Never have been, never will be. It was the thing inside me…capitalizing on my love for her."

Faith was silent for a long moment before asking, "Why did you cheat on Queen C with Red?"

Xander sighed for a moment before answering, "Cordelia and I had an expiration date, Faith. We weren't meant to be. But, Willow…last year, while Angel was bad, Willow wound up in a coma. When I saw her, lying there, looking like she was dead…it just…I realized, then and there, that it was _her_ that I was in love with, not Cordelia, not Buffy, not anyone but her. I told her that night in the hospital…and, she woke up…she heard me…and she called out for Oz."

Faith winced in sympathy for him, only imagining just how painful it must have been.

"When we started fluking," Xander continued, "It was like…it was like a dream, something good had finally happened to me. But, she wanted to end it, and, when we were found…she just didn't even consider staying with me…to her, I was a convenience…then, an inconvenience."

Xander sighed, leaning back in his car, taking a moment to compose himself. Faith, in an act that she never thought herself capable of, reached over and embraced him. He did nothing for a moment, before returning her embrace.

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Moments Earlier…

Buffy grumbled to herself as she walked down the street towards Faith's motel. She was pissed because Faith hadn't shown up during the Scooby meeting like Giles had asked, and Giles had insisted that she go fetch her sister Slayer. She was starting to grow to like Faith, but she was a loose cannon on her ship and that was the last thing that they needed. However, she was more inclined to give her some slack cause of her help in last night's…events.

She shivered slightly to herself, wondering how the Hell Giles had managed what he did. Shrugging it off, she was not uneager to note that Faith was nowhere to be seen during the final moments, when the spell had sealed the Hellmouth. That was something she was certainly curious about, it was unlike Faith to ditch in a fight.

As she turned the corner at the motel, preparing to walk down the corridor to her room, she paused, noting that a car was parked in front of her room. She recognized the car, but she wasn't sure where from. She looked into the car, and forced herself to keep from gasping as she saw Faith and _Xander_, hugging in his car. She quickly backstepped, going around the corner to keep herself from being seen, and focused her hearing on them.

"Thanks, Faith," she heard Xander say a minute later, "For listening. And, for…y'know."

"Last night," she could hear Faith's grin, "No prob, X…you weren't bad for a virgin. I don't usually backtrack, but, you might be worth it."

"Oh, be still mine aching heart," Xander said with a chuckle, "Um, I hate to do this, but…would you mind-"

"Not telling B about what just happened," Faith finished his sentence, "Sure, X, no prob. We're buds, after all."

"You called me that earlier today," Xander said, "Then, you were like, 'oh, we ain't that close.' What's up with that?"

"Well, we ain't, but we could be," Faith said, "Cause, after what we just shared, Hell, I feel closer to you than any of my other boytoys."

"Thanks…I think," Xander said, and she heard someone, probably Faith, get out of the car.

"It's probably a good thing," Faith said, now standing beside her door, "I'll see ya at lunch tomorrow! I'm serious!"

"…Awesome," Xander said with a happy tone, "Lookin' forward to it! Catcha on tha flip-side, playa!!"

"…Don't ever do that again, X," Faith said with a laugh, "You're too white to pull that off even in Cali."

"Na-ah, I'm straight-up gangsta from the West Side," Xander said, and Buffy had to keep herself from laughing as she just imagined him doing some kinda gangster pose in his car.

"Get the fuck outta here before you kill my rep," Faith shouted through her laughter, "Go!"

Xander laughed and said, "Peace out!"

Buffy flattened herself against the wall as Xander pulled out, waiting for a few moments to see if he'd noticed her as he left. Thankfully, though, he hadn't seen her. Sighing, she turned the corner, intending on talking to Faith about this, only to run, literally, into her. She lost her balance and fell backwards, landing on her ass as she stared up at Faith, who was looking down at her with a grin.

"Didn't anyone ever tell ya it was rude to eavesdrop, B," Faith said, extending a hand to help her up.

"Well, you gotta admit, it was worth it," Buffy said, not accepting the hand to get to her own feet, "So, what was that? Are you and Xander dating now?"

"What me and boytoy do's our own business, B," Faith said with a shrug.

"Yeah, but he asked you to keep something from me," Buffy said, "I smell dirt, spill!"

"Ain't mine to spill," Faith replied, leaning against the wall.

"Oh, c'mon," Buffy whined, "What is it!? I already know you two slept together. What, he didn't get you pregnant, did he?"

"Yeah, that's it," Faith replied sarcastically, turning around to go to her room, "Me and X are having a whole litter of kids, and they're all gonna be named Luke and Leia."

"Knowing Xander, I don't doubt it," Buffy muttered, "But, c'mon, for real."

"B, I ain't gonna tell you," Faith said, "Drop it."

"Faith," Buffy said, giving her a stern look, "I'm gonna find out one way or another."

"Yeah, but not from me," Faith said, grabbing her gear for the patrol that night, "Drop it."

"…Fine, but it isn't over," Buffy said, turning around and taking off without her.

"…X, I sure hope you appreciate this," Faith muttered before following her 'sister-Slayer.'

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"He calls forth the spirit of Uurthu," Jack whispered over Heidi's body in her apartment, "None shall speak. She shall arise!!"

He grasped the chicken bone in one hand and his knife in the other. He used his knife to cut his palm, and let several drops spill onto her head.

"SHE SHALL ARISE," he shouted.

Heidi opened her eyes and took in a deep breath. Jack stared at her, seeing something that he found odd as she awoke: her eyes turned bright green.

The thought fled his mind, however, as Heidi began to look around, an amazed smile on her face.

"Wow," she whispered to herself, "I was…dead," she looked to Jack, her smile growing sultry and…predatory, "You raised me."

Jack smiled at her, and she launched herself at him with an animalistic roar. She landed on him with a gasp of air, and began to roughly kiss him. He responded in kind, enjoying the feel of her body against his. She pulled back against him and stared into his eyes, and he got the feeling that she was assessing him…that she was trying to figure out what to do with him.

"You and I shall destroy the Alpha," she whispered to him.

"The wha-" she roughly kissed him, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood.

"You and I shall hunt him, shall kill him," Heidi said, dry humping him as she did so, causing him to groan with need, "We need the others. He is too strong to take on our own."

"Others," Jack started to ask, only to get interrupted again by her demanding lips.

"Later," she said, grinning down at him, "For now…take your pants off."


	5. Chapter 5

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.

A/N: Sorry about the long delay, stuff happens. Enjoy!

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Xander walked into the library the next day, sighing to himself as he set his stuff down on the table. Oz was already there, strumming his bass guitar as he did so.

"Hey," Oz greeted him, "You ready?"

"Yeah, man," Xander said with a small grin, sitting down in the seat opposite him, picking up the bass guitar that Oz had brought.

"Xander, Oz," Giles greeted the two as he came inside, "Oh, having a little jam session, are we?"

"Teaching," Oz stated.

"Really," Giles seemed genuinely surprised to hear that, "Xander, you've never given any inclination towards learning a musical instrument."

"Well, gotta try and pick up A skill," Xander said, "I'm not gonna be able to rely on my good looks and charming personality all my life."

"Indeed," Giles remarked glibly, "I say, I wish I had known about this beforehand, I might've been so inclined as to join you."

"Still can," Oz said simply.

"…You know, I believe I can get a bass guitar from the music room," Giles said with a small smile, "Give me a few moments, will you?"

"Sure thing, G-Man," Xander said with a smile.

"Don't call me that," Giles shouted as he left the library.

"…Why're you doing this, man," Oz asked once Giles was out of earshot, "Honestly."

"…You and me have never been friends," Xander admitted to him, "I think that…if I'd known you better-"

"You could've stopped," Oz said, nodding, "But, it isn't about that…not really."

"…No, it's not," Xander said.

"You're trying to get over her," Oz said, "You love her."

Xander nodded, not even bothering to hide it.

"Give it time, man," Oz said, "For what it's worth…she's always been yours."

"No, she isn't," Xander said with some bitterness, "Not anymore. She's made that very clear."

"She feels guilty," Oz said.

"…Did you ever notice how easy she got off on it," Xander said, "I mean, you forgave her in less than two weeks. Cordy still hates me. And, when it happened, guess who got the blame for it? Not us, like we should have been…me. I got blamed, everyone blamed me, but no one really blamed her. Why?"

"…I wish I had an answer for you, man," Oz said, frowning slightly, "But, all I can say is…I always knew it was both of you. I just love her so much that I could forgive her."

"Whereas Cordelia didn't love me enough to even hear me out," Xander muttered.

"You and her aren't right," Oz said, "You know that."

"…Doesn't make it any better," Xander said.

"…I forgive you," Oz said, causing Xander to look up at him, "I kinda have to. I know how it feels to fall for her. There's no one like my Willow."

Xander smiled, noting the 'my,' and said, "No, Sir, there is not."

"Excellent, you haven't started," Giles said, coming into the room with a bass guitar in hand, "So, how shall we do this?"

"Start off slow, learning how to hit the notes," Oz said, strumming a little.

"Excellent," Giles said with a smile, sitting down amongst the two boys.

"Well, this is odd," the three looked up as Buffy entered the library, "It kinda reminds me of _That 70's Show_…only, none of you are high…right?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Oz replied.

"I did confiscate a bag of weed from a student today," Giles remarked, smiling to himself, "The boy knew where to get his supply. Very good stuff."

"So, how much have you smoked, you rapscallion," Xander said in a British voice.

"None, of course," Giles said with a smile, "I'm saving it for tonight."

"Can I get in on that," Oz asked.

"Hey, don't leave me out," Xander said.

"Of course, the more the merrier," Giles said glibly, turning to Buffy as he did so, "Would you care to join us, Buffy?"

"Are you serious," Buffy demanded, flabbergasted, "You're honestly going to let Oz and Xander smoke pot with you, pot that you shouldn't have to begin with because," she flipped out for a moment, "IT'S POT!!"

"Do calm down, Buffy," Giles said with a laugh, "You really must learn when someone is fooling with you."

"Yeah," Xander picked up, "C'mon, this is Giles! Do you really think he'd keep any pot he confiscated?"

"Well…alright," Buffy said begrudgingly, "But if you get arrested for possession, I'm not bailing you out."

"Agreed," Giles said with a chuckle, strumming his bass guitar as he did so.

"Good," Buffy said, satisfied, "Xander, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure," Xander said, still laughing to himself, "Go ahead and start, I'll be back."

Xander and Buffy went into the stacks as Oz and Giles started playing notes. Oz looked back after them for a moment before leaning forward to Giles and saying, "We were joking?"

"No, not really," Giles said with a smirk, "Still, you're not smoking with me, young man. Lord only knows what that would do to a werewolf."

"True," Oz said with a small smile, "I might start trying to blow down houses in search of pigs."

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"Xander, you know you're my friend, right," Buffy said, seemingly nervous.

"Yeah," Xander said, thinking that this might be an apology for keeping him out of the fight two days ago.

"And, as friends, we don't keep any secrets," Buffy said, seemingly leading up to something.

"…Sure," Xander said, getting a bit antsy to see where this was going.

"So…is there anything you wanna tell me," Xander shook his head after a moment, "Really? Nothing involving you…and…Faith, perhaps."

"…Nope, not a thing," Xander said, shaking his head.

"…I saw you and her at her motel, and I heard what you said," Buffy said, displaying her trump card.

"I kinda figured that," Xander said with a small smile, "Buff, do I ask you about what you and Angel do? I'll answer it for ya: no, I don't. And, not just because I really don't wanna know what you and Deadboy get up to behind closed doors. It's mostly cause…well, not mostly cause, but a lot cause there's this great little thing called PRIVACY."

"But, you asked Faith to keep something from me," Buffy demanded, "What is it!!"

"Not telling," Xander said, "Now, I'm gonna go and rejoin G-man and Oz and play for a while, then I'm going to go to the Bronze and hang out for a while."

"But," Buffy started.

"No buts," Xander remarked, walking away, "Not unless you plan on mooning someone, in which case, I recommend Snyder."

Buffy went red at that, effectively ending the conversation.

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"So this Mr. O'Toole killed an innocent waitress, took her body back to her apartment, then resurrected her with voodoo magic," Mayor Richard Wilkins said after Mr. Trick finished his report, "Well…this kid sounds like a real go-getter! Why don't we see if we can accommodate him with a position on our staff? Say, mailboy/assassin?"

"As good of an idea as that is, it's not a good idea," Trick said, "The kid's unstable, and he's a zombie, so if he gets really banged up, it'll take a lot of magic to bring him back up."

"Hmm, an excellent point," Wilkins agreed, "Though, I do like that he's unbalanced. What are your recommendations, Mr. Trick?"

"Leave the kid be," Trick supplied, "He's got it out for that Harris kid that runs with the Slayer. Seems like a case of 'let them pummel each other and pick off what's left.'"

"Ah, an enterprising solution, Mr. Trick," Wilkins said, rising out of his chair, "That's the kind of thinking that I need in my cabinet, someone who thinks _outside_ the box," Wilkins laid his hands on Trick's shoulders, causing him to stiffen up involuntarily, "Keep it up, Mr. Trick. And, for goodness sake, do something about your fingernails! I'd hate to have Jesus continuing cleaning up piles of dust in my office."

"Yes, Sir," Trick replied carefully, but enthusiastically.

"Excellent," Wilkins said, "Well, that certainly puts a bright spot on my day. Who's up for a root beer!?"


	6. Chapter 6

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.

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"You can't be serious," Faith said incredulously as Xander filled her in, "After I told her to drop it? Man, nosy bitch."

"She's curious," Xander said, "I think it's mostly because I mentioned her by name. If I hadn't, she wouldn't be nearly as interested."

"Ya got a point there, X," Faith said, bending over the table to send the 8-ball home, "I win."

"You suck," Xander muttered, handing her a five, which she gleefully took.

"Hey, don't look, boytoy, but guess who just came in," Faith said with a grin.

"I'm sure she's blonde," Xander muttered, "Or, at least bottle-blonde."

"Hi, everyone," he stiffened slightly, but unnoticeably as Willow walked up to them, "What's going on?"

"Not much, Red," Faith said with a grin, "You're looking mighty fine tonight, all spruced up for Wolfie. Don't she, X?"

Xander chose that moment to pick up his drink and take a long gulp, painfully aware of Willow's look, daring him to say anything at all.

"Is Oz here tonight," Xander asked after finishing his drink.

"He's not here yet, but he will be for the band," Willow said with a grin that spoke of her affection for the wolf in droves, sending yet another spike into his heart.

"Tell ya what, Red," Faith said, approaching Willow with a sultry look, "If ya want, me and you could be the groupies for tonight and cheer on the band in a more…vocal way."

"Eep," Willow eeped, turning red as she did so, "I think I'm…yeah."

She took off, heading for the bar to escape Faith. The Dark Slayer stared after her, laughing quietly to herself.

"That was evil, but so very good," Xander said, lifting up his hand, "High 5!"

Faith looked at him like he was the weirdest thing ever.

"Dude, no one 'high fives' anymore," Faith said, shaking her head and walking away from him, "Get with the times, X."

"Hey, the five will return, just you wait," Xander replied, still holding up his hand, "C'mon! …anyone?"

A random guy walked past him and slapped his hand.

"Thank you, Sir," Xander said, taking off to find Faith.

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Rhonda Kelley woke up with a headache as the banging on her door intensified.

"Hold your horses, I'm comin'," Rhonda said, looking through the peephole to see who it was.

She was pleasantly surprised to see it was Heidi, her friend from high school, along with a decent looking guy standing behind her. She didn't open the door automatically, though, as she felt that something was off with…IT. She shook her head, forcing IT away from her forefront, and opened the door.

"HEIDI," she shouted in girly joy.

"RHONDA," Heidi echoed with her, and the two hugged and jumped up and down in girlish glee before settling down, "Rhonda, this is my boyfriend, Jack."

Rhonda held out her hand for him to shake, but as she did so, she looked at his face clearly and gasped.

"Jack O'Toole," Rhonda muttered, "Wow…I haven't seen you since I dropped out."

"Yeah, it's been a while," Jack said, though he didn't really remember her.

"Oh, where are my manners," Rhonda said, entering her apartment, leaving the door open for them, "Let me make you some snacks."

"That's ok, Rhonda, we actually came her for something very specific," Heidi said, following her friend with a feral smirk, "We were wondering if we could get our hands on some of your…cookies."

"Oh," Rhonda was smiling now, smelling a sale, "How much?"

"Enough for ten people to get a big buzz," Jack said, following Heidi as she entered.

"Oh, wow," Rhonda said, her smile growing as she did so, "That's a tall order, practically all my supplies. I couldn't let that go for less than 500."

"Ah, c'mon, Rhonda," Heidi said, stalking closer to her, a smile on her face, "We're friends."

"S-sorry, Heidi," Rhonda said, backing up as she did so, feeling IT start to panic, "I can't do it."

"I don't think you understand," Heidi backhanded her, sending her down to the ground, and she leapt on top of her, straddling her and wrapping her hands around her throat, "You're going to give us all that you have, and while we're gone, you're gonna make more for us. Do you understand?"

"…Yes," Rhonda choked out, knowing well enough to back down for her own life, and she could feel IT do the same…and she could tell that Heidi knew that IT was backing down, too, from the smile on her face.

"Good girl," Heidi said, and she took a long whiff from her, "I like that fear. But, don't fret, the Alpha will make you whole again. Later."

Heidi licked the side of her face, then roughly bit down on her lip, easily drawing blood. She backed up to her feet, licking the blood from her lips, and smiled down at her. She kicked her once in the ribs, causing Rhonda to lose her breath for a while and black out for a moment.

"Remember," she heard, "Make more while we're gone."

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"Why didn't we kill her," Jack asked as he followed Heidi down the stairs, loaded with the cookies as he did so.

"She needs to learn her place in the pack," Heidi said simply, "When she's broken, then we'll kill her. She'll be more controllable."

Jack stared at her back, thinking to himself, before continuing to follow her, a frown on his face.

ҲҲҲ

"So, c'mon, spill," Buffy demanded as she kicked the vampire in the face, "What's up with you and Xander?"

"Oh, will you drop it, B," Faith said back, punching her vampire in the face then ducking to dodge a slash from its sword, "I'm not gonna tell you!"

"Oh, c'mon," Buffy said, staking her vamp, "You know I'm just gonna bug you till you confess!"

"Well, bug all you want, I'm not," she grunted and staked her vamp, "Telling! I don't do that shit."

"…Ok, but what about other kinds of dirt," Buffy asked, "Like, oh, you and he did it!"

"Whoa, you wanna know about _that_," Faith asked with a leer, "Wanna take a ride yourself, B?"

"Oh, God, don't do that," Buffy said, walking up beside her, "I love Xander, just…not like that. But, y'know, I am curious. How was he?"

"Well, he wasn't bad," Faith remarked, remembering the night, "He did pretty good for a virgin, and he brought me off three times in thirty minutes."

"OK, not _that_ detailed," Buffy said, cringing.

"Well, these are the facts, B," Faith said, "You don't want 'em, don't ask for 'em."

"Hmm," Buffy hmmed before turning to look around, "Wonder who they were."

"Dunno, but those swords were wicked sharp," Faith said, massaging her arm where one of the vamps had sliced her, "Think we should pick 'em up?"

"Probably not a bad idea," Buffy said, looking around, "Um…where'd they go?"

"Dunno," Faith said, looking around herself, "That's weird."

"Oh, well," Buffy said, "No biggee. So, are you and he goin' steady?"

"I don't go steady, B," Faith said, walking on as she did so, "It ain't me."

"Ok, so, what did he want you to keep from me," Buffy asked, smiling at Faith's groan, "Does he have a crush on someone?"

Faith couldn't help it. For that tiny moment, a flicker of emotion came across her face, and Buffy caught it.

"He does!" she exclaimed, "So, who is it? Do I know her?"

"B, drop it," Faith said sharply.

"So, I know her," Buffy said, thinking to herself, "It's not me, is it?"

"Get over yourself, B," Faith remarked with a sigh, "You really won't drop this, will you?"

"No, you got me curious, I gotta know," Buffy said with an all too happy smile, "So, it isn't me, is it you," Faith stared at her, "Ok…oh, God, it's Cordelia, isn't it? Oh, poor guy, he still can't get over her, even when he knows she'll never take him back."

Faith sighed, hoping that that was it…unfortunately, Buffy took that sigh to mean something else.

"It's not Cordelia," Buffy asked, causing Faith to groan out, "So, who else could…it…oh, no," Buffy looked at her sharply and whispered, "Willow?"

Faith sighed, deciding to end it and prayed that Xander forgave her, so she closed her eyes and nodded her head.

"Oh, my God," Buffy said quietly, "Xander's got a crush on Willow."

"Um…not quite," Faith said, knowing she would regret this, "He's…kinda…in love with her."

"WHAT," Buffy said loudly in surprise, "Xander…Willow…love."

"B, you alright," Faith asked as Buffy suddenly sat down on a bench.

"Xander's in love with Willow," Buffy whispered to herself before looking up at Faith, "How long?"

Faith sighed and sat down beside her, saying, "Long time, since Fang went bad."

"…wow," Buffy said to herself, "Y'know…everything makes sense now."

"What," Faith asked.

"Xander's not the type to cheat on someone just cause he's lusting after someone," Buffy said, "I mean, the guy managed to keep his hands to himself when I was under a love spell, and considering that I came onto him dressed in a raincoat and nothing else, that's pretty damn impressive."

"Really," Faith said, ignoring Buffy's ego for the moment, "I did not know that."

"But, now, knowing that Xander's had these kinda feelings for her for a long time…it just clicks," Buffy said, "Wow…this is not gonna end well."

"How do you know that," Faith wondered.

"Romance on the Hellmouth," Buffy said with a sigh, "It just doesn't end well. Look at me and Angel, and sometime I'll have to tell you about Moloch."

"…Ok," Faith said, "So, if it fits, why did Willow do it?"

"She told me that she found it exciting, knowing that everyone could find out at any moment," Buffy explained.

"…So, she used him," Faith concluded, more to herself than anyone else.

"No, no," Buffy came to her defense, "Willow would never use him like that."

"B, the guy's in love with her," Faith exclaimed, "She had to have picked up on that. And, even if she didn't, it still doesn't change the fact that he loves her and she doesn't love him. Damn, X just can't catch a break."

"Yeah, I've noticed that his love life sucks worse than mine," Buffy said, feeling sad for him, "Still, dramatic improvement with you. I heard you say you'd think about backtracking, whatever that means."

"Not while he's still in love with Willow," Faith said, "I don't replace anybody, I'm not some filler."

"Well, he can't be all that in love with her," Buffy said, "After all, he did sleep with you."

"…Yeah," Faith said quietly, a frown on her face.


	7. Chapter 7

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.

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Los Angeles…

Kyle sighed to himself as he walked over to his fridge and pulled out a beer, gingerly sitting down on his couch in his crappy apartment.

"The things we do for money," he said to himself, popping the can open and taking a big gulp, preparing to drown himself in booze before getting up tomorrow to continue shooting the film (he frowned to himself as he move around, trying to get comfortable in his seat but finding it almost impossible).

Before he could even get halfway through his beer, a loud knock echoed against his door. Sighing, he moved to get up, wincing as he did so, and gingerly walked over to the door. As he did so, he paused, feeling…IT quiver in something akin to fear. Shrugging it off, Kyle looked through the peephole and saw a face he hadn't seen in quite some time.

"Heidi," he said, "What're you doing here?"

"We need to talk, Kyle," she said in a commanding voice, "Open the door."

Kyle could feel IT demanding that he run for Alpha, but he once more shrugged it off, knowing that it would be a cold day in Hell before he ran off to Sunnydale. He opened the door…

…and the door pushed open, slamming into his forehead and sending him down to the ground. Kyle moaned out in pain, gingerly touching his forehead as it exploded in pain, feeling the slick blood as it began to pour out his body. Slowly, he looked up, and saw Heidi and another man that he thought looked familiar, but he couldn't place the face.

Heidi was…leering wasn't quite the word, but he recognized the look all the same. It was the look of a predator. She walked over to him, her leather pants squeaking out as she did so, and he backed away, feeling IT begging him to run.

"Stay," she ordered sharply, and he stopped without thought, causing her to smile and say, "Good boy."

"W-what do you w-want," he said shakily.

"Oh, shh," Heidi said to him, squatting down to face him, and she rubbed a hand against his face, causing IT to quiver even more, but this time in both fear and pleasure, "Don't worry, baby…Alpha's here."

"Wha-" was all he got out before he was knocked unconscious.

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"Put him on the couch," Heidi ordered casually, looking around the apartment as she did so.

Jack closed the door behind him and roughly picked up Kyle, tossing him onto the countertop as he did so.

"I said on the cou-" Jack roughly punched her in the face, bringing her down to the couch. He stood over her, pulling out his knife and chicken foot as he did so.

"Get this, girl," Jack snarled at her, "You are not in charge here, I am! I brought you back," he began to circle the chicken foot around her, and she could feel the voodoo energies circle around her, drawing her back to death, "And I can send you back."

Heidi's mind raced as thoughts of self-preservation invaded her mind. She was the Alpha now, and no one else…but, Jack had the power to end the magic that had brought her back. If she was to cement her place as leader of the pack, she would need to remain on his good side…

Another thought invaded her mind, one which caused her to smile. She would need a mate…

"Ok," Heidi said, smiling a seductive smile, "You win. You are Alpha."

"That's right," Jack said with a smile, putting the chicken foot away as he did so, "Now, you go break him. I'm gonna go get a few friends to help out."

Heidi watched him leave the apartment with a cross between a smirk and a frown on her face, before shrugging and picking Kyle up.

"This is gonna be fun," Heidi whispered, ripping Kyle's shirt from his body.

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Xander walked down the halls with a bored expression on his face. Fact was, he was tired from last night, and was barely there this morning. So, it came as quite a shock when Buffy came out of nowhere and hugged him tightly.

"Either I'm having the beginning of a really good dream," Xander said, "Or I'm so bored I've actually begun to leave my body and enter a different universe."

Buffy lightly punched him on his shoulder as she came away from him (_Ow, _he thought to himself, _Damn Slayer strength_), smiling at him as she did so.

"What's up, Buff," Xander asked.

"Nothing," she said, though it was obvious that there was something, "Y'know I love you, right? Well, not, 'love you' love you, but, in a friend way…right?"

"Yeah, friend-love, got it," Xander said, "And, obviously, not friends with benefits."

"Oh, well, that's a given," she replied.

"Oh, that hurt," Xander said, mock saddened, "So, seriously, what's up with the love? Not that I'm complaining, just curious."

"Nothin'," Buffy said, still with the something face, "Just wanted you to know that."

"…'Kay, whatever," Xander said, deciding to shrug it off, "You seen G-Man yet?"

"Heading that way right now," Buffy said, "Wanna come?"

"I thought I was fray adjacent now," Xander said, following her to the library.

"You're still fray adjacent," Buffy remarked, "But, that doesn't mean we don't want you involved at all."

"…Coulda fooled me," Xander said quietly as she entered the library, and he followed two seconds later.

"New Watcher," Buffy asked, and Xander noted the presence of a slightly-older man dressed like Giles.

"New Watcher," Giles reiterated, "Good morning, Xander."

"Mornin'," Xander said, flopping down in a seat, "So, this guy evil?"

"I beg your pardon," the newbie said in an uppity voice.

"I just asked Giles if you are evil," Xander explained to him in a 'duh' voice, "G-Man?"

"No, he's not evil," Giles sounded oddly disappointed at that, "And don't call me that."

"I say, does this young man know about…" he trailed off at that, not knowing how to complete the sentence.

"What goes bump in the night," Xander asked, getting up from his seat, "Let's see, ladies and gentlemen, for the grand prize, do I know about what goes bump in the night. Let's see, who do we have here, you, young lady," he sauntered up to Buffy and presented her his hand, which was pretend-holding a microphone, "What's your name?"

"…Buffy," she said, not quite getting it.

"Well, Buffy, if you answer this question correctly you get, you guessed it, A NEW CAR," Xander said, ala Bob Barker, "Are you ready?"

"Yes, Bob," Buffy said with a smile.

"Ok, your question is," he pretend-read from a card, "Does Xander Harris know about what goes bump in the night," he thrust his hand in her face, "Your answer!"

"Oh, gosh, I know this one," Buffy sat there, thinking about it, "Oh, gosh…is it…yes?"

"Correct," Xander shouted, "You just won A NEW CAR," he pointed to the front of the library.

"Oh, I wanted the Mercedes," Buffy pouted.

"Sorry, Buff," Xander said with a smile, "That's all for today, everybody, be sure to have your pet vampires spayed and neutered. G'night, Fresno!"

"…Is he insane," the new Watcher asked.

"Yes," Giles said, stifling his chuckles as he rose to walk behind the newbie, "You get used to it."

"Whoa, where am I," Xander said.

"Are you serious," Buffy asked, catching Xander's wink, "You were just acting like you were Bob Barker. The Hellmouth must be messing with you today."

"It…does that to people," the new Watcher looked positively pale at that.

"Yep," Buffy remarked glibly, "It does strange things to people. Made a girl invisible once."

"I see," the new Watcher said, before positively running for his books.

Xander lifted up his hand, and Buffy enthusiastically slapped it, causing him to groan out in pain. The doors opened again, drawing all their attention.

"Sup, B, X, G," Faith said, walking inside and coming to a stop, "New Watcher?"

"New Watcher," Buffy, Xander, and Giles said as one.

"He evil," Faith asked, coming to sit down beside Buffy.

"No," Giles responded, once more sounding disappointed.

"Um, how rude of me," the newbie said, coming up to them and extending a hand, "Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, at your service."

Faith and Buffy looked at the offered hand before Faith shrugged and spat in her hand, quickly grabbing hold of his hand to his obvious disgust and said, "Pleased to meetcha."

"…Likewise," Wesley said as he pulled out a cloth to wipe his hand clean.

"I'm gonna go get some breakfast," Xander said, "Faith, care to join?"

"Sure, X," Faith said, getting off the table as she did so, "Later G, B, and…guy."

"But," Wesley tried to protest, but she was quickly out the door before he could, "…This isn't going to be easy, is it?'

"What was your first clue," Buffy asked with an all-too sweet smile.

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Rhonda sat down in her seat, nursing a glass of bourbon as the stove continued to bake her cookies. She was at her whit's end with this situation. Heidi was back underneath IT's influence, and Jack was working with her. Whatever they were gonna do, it was gonna be bad, she knew that much.

She shuddered and took a long drink from her bourbon as Principal Flutie's face crawled across her eyes. She was tired…very tired. She didn't want to be a part of this, she just wanted to live what was left of her life.

She resolved, then and there, to get out of Sunnydale, as soon as possible. She was tempted to pack a bag and leave then and there, but she knew Heidi would be after her the second she found out. Heidi was trying to take over the pack…but, she wasn't totally lost to IT…it was more like she and IT were working together…

Sighing, she took another long drink as the timer went off, letting her know her last batch of cookies were through. She decided that she would sell as much as she could, then get the Hell outta dodge. She knew that they would be back soon, probably before the end of the day. She would give them what she didn't sell, then leave as soon as they were gone.

She wanted to run then, that very moment…but she was scared…and she found herself oddly submissive to Heidi…like she had been to…

She frowned to herself as another option presented itself to her…the Alpha…Xander.

She placed the cookies down as she prepared a new batch, her desire to leave and her fear of Heidi warring with each other, and her new idea to seek out Xander blazed in her mind.

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"…And he shall arise!"

Kyle felt an oddly exhilarating sensation as he woke up. All he could remember was Heidi coming to his door, then…

The memories hit him, and his eyes went green for a long moment, before returning to their normal color. Memories of the hunt and the Alpha circulated through him.

"Kyle," he looked up from his couch at Heidi, who was leering down at him.

"…Alpha," he whispered, and he slowly crawled off the couch to her feet.

"That's right, baby," he took in her scent as she raked her hand through his hair.

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Jack scoffed to himself as Kyle woke up and began sniffing at Heidi's feet. If it weren't for the fact that Heidi had demonstrated the strength behind their possession and resurrection…well, he knew what Harris was capable of, and he also knew that his friends were as dangerous as he was, if not, more. Jack may be dead, but that didn't mean he was stupid. Still, this business had to end soon. He had only two or three days left before the stars went out of alignment to the point where he could no longer raise the dead nor send them back…and he had no intention of letting Heidi hang around, not with what she was capable of.

He turned to the door as he heard someone knocking. He opened it up, and welcomed the two men in.

"Who are they," Heidi asked.

"This is Julio," Jack indicated the Hispanic man dressed in jeans and a white shirt who nodded at her, "And this is Greg," the black man dressed similarly with dreadlocks nodded, "They're old friends of mine that moved to LA. When they heard what Harris did to Bob, they couldn't refuse the offer to get some payback," Jack finished, silently thankful that they hadn't heard about his death months beforehand.

"We're gonna get this guy back for killin' Bob," Julio said, anger in his voice.

"The Hell is up with him," Greg pointed down to Kyle, who was snarling at the intruders.

"Don't mind him," Heidi said, "Up," Kyle stood up at her call.

"When do we leave," Julio asked, eager to get vengeance for Bob.

"Soon," Jack said, sitting down at the counter, "For now…have a cookie."


	8. Chapter 8

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.

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"So, Buffy came up to me, hugged me, and told me she loves me in a friend way," Xander explained as he and Faith took a seat in his car to enjoy their breakfast, "Any comment?"

"…She appreciates you as a friend," Faith suggested weakly, and at Xander's look said, "Yeah, even I wasn't hot on that one."

"So, how much does she know," Xander asked, taking a bite out of his biscuit.

"…She figured out that you were still in love with Red," Faith confessed, "I didn't tell her anything till she got that far, I just confirmed it."

"…Eh, she would've found out anyway," Xander said, not genuinely bothered by her knowing that, "So long as she doesn't find out about the hyena stuff."

"She was actually kinda happy about it," at his look, she explained, "She figured that was why you cheated on Queen C. She was always confused about why you would cheat, but said it made sense since you were in love with Red."

"…I guess it does," Xander said, munching on his biscuit.

"…Xander," he looked at her, noting the use of his full name, "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," Xander said with a smile, though he had a feeling he wasn't going to be happy about this.

"Why did you sleep with me," Faith asked, kinda afraid of the answer.

"…Faith," Xander started, "Are you sure you wanna have this conversation?"

"Yes, Xander, I do," Faith said, "It's just…you seem like such a nice guy, I don't get why you'd do something like that. I mean, even with it being me, I just kinda feel…disappointed in you for doing it."

"Well, that's nice to hear," Xander sighed, "Alright, you wanna know…here it is."

Faith leaned forward slightly, wanting to not miss anything.

"…That night, while Jack and his buds robbed the hardware store, Willow was buying stuff from the magic store across the street," Xander explained, "I saw her and we started talking. I tried to get her to tell me what was going on, but she was tight lipped about it…before she left in a hurry, though, she hugged me and said…she said 'I love you.'"

Faith winced in sympathy for him, knowing how that musta felt.

"After that, I just…I dunno, I felt lost and alone, then Jack and his buds came after me, and I was just…" he sighed, "I wanted to feel needed again. So, when you offered…"

"…You used me to feel needed again," Faith said, a sad look on her face, before she laughed sardonically and said, "Just like I used you to work off my energy."

"I felt guilty afterwards, so I kinda lashed out at you to make myself feel better," Xander explained, "…I'm sorry. Really, I am, I-"

"Hey, stop," Faith said, looking him in the eye, "C'mon, you and I both know that what happened that nigh wasn't about anyone being used," at his looked, she reiterated, "Ok, so it was about me using you and you used me, too, but, y'know what? If that hadn't happened, and if I hadn't run into you afterwards, we wouldn't be talking right now."

"…So, I guess what started out as nothing became something," Xander said thoughtfully, "A friendship."

"…Yeah," Faith said with a nod, "You're a good guy, X. Hell, if Red knew what she was missin' out on-"

"Ok, that's enough," Xander said stiffly, "I know that was to make me feel better, but…"

"Alright," Faith nodded.

An awkward silence descended on the two, so they just picked up eating. Eventually, they finished their food, and the bell rang, signifying that Xander had to be in class. Xander, of course, did not leave. He and Faith sat in the car for a few awkward moments, till Faith decided to do something about it.

"You wanna drop by my place," Faith asked.

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Jack grunted as he tossed the drugged body of his friend into the trunk, and Kyle unceremoniously dumped his other friend in the back. Heidi was in the driver's seat, preparing to take them to Sunnydale.

"So, how're we doin' this," Jack asked as he and Kyle sat down in the car.

"Simple," Heidi said, "Tonight, we'll take them to the zoo, then we'll possess them," Kyle cackled at that, knowing what delights they were in for, "Then, I'll break them, and you'll kill them."

"We should drop in on Rhonda," Jack said, "She should have another batch for us."

"I think you're right," Heidi agreed, "You and Kyle keep an eye on those two," at Jack's look, she hastily added, "She's afraid of me, but not of you, and she'll respond to me just like Kyle," she took one hand off the wheel and idly rubbed Kyle's hair with it, causing him to moan in pleasure.

"Fine," Jack said, "Tomorrow night, we strike."

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"What's up with Xander and Faith hanging out together so much," Willow asked.

Buffy snapped her pencil in half at that.

"Um," Buffy said, trying desperately to think of something that'd satisfy Willow.

"Buffy, you're hiding something," Willow said, staring at her, "You know what happens when you hide something from Willow?"

"…I try and keep it a secret till you break out the Resolve Face," Buffy admitted with a sigh, "Look, Wills, it's just….it's personal."

"Personal," that was the wrong thing to say, apparently, "With Xander…and Faith? What, are they going out or something?"

A look crossed Buffy's face.

"They are," Willow exclaimed, seeming crestfallen at the conclusion, "But…Xander…and, and…FAITH! With that skanky ho-bag?"

"Willow," Buffy exclaimed, shocked to hear such language from her meek friend.

"Ugh, Faith," Willow said to herself, "Anyone in the world but Faith."

"What's wrong with Faith," Buffy asked, feeling the need to defend her sister Slayer.

"She sleeps around, dresses like a slut, and isn't-" she abruptly paused, before saying, "Look, she just isn't right for him. How long have they been dating?"

"…Well, I guess they're not officially dating," Buffy said, looking for a way out.

"Good, then it shouldn't be to difficult to talk some sense into Xander," Willow said, but she caught Buffy's look, "What?"

"Don't you think you're kinda…I dunno, acting like a crazy person," Buffy said shyly, "I mean, you gave up Xander for Oz. That kinda means that you have no right to interfere in his love life."

"But…it's Faith," Willow said, as if that explained everything.

"And it's Xander," Buffy said, "I'm sorry, Will, but you're on your own if you wanna try and split them up. And, really, do you think your friendship with him could take a blow like that?"

In truth, Buffy had been worried for some time about her friends' friendship together. They had grown distant in the aftermath of the Fluke, and what with Xander still being in love with Willow…well, she remembered several disasters like that from her old high school. None of them ended with a hug.

"…I guess you're right," Willow muttered to herself, "I've been keeping Xander at two arms length from me for a while now, and…I guess we've kinda suffered for it."

"Well, you had to get Oz back, and you showed him that you're capable of maintaining your friendship with Xander while still remaining loyal to him," Buffy said, "I've seen both these kinda things before, Wills, and lemme tell ya…they usually don't end as well as they have. I mean, you and Oz broke up for about two weeks, tops, while Xander's had to live with the guilt, Cordelia's attitude, which is just mean no matter how much in the right she is, and you distancing yourself from him. Frankly, it's a miracle you two are still even friends."

Willow looked at her, a new light in her eyes. Sighing, Buffy turned away and hoped she'd done the right thing to help put Xander and Willow back together.

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"Y'know," Faith said, staring at Xander on the other side of her bed, "This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I invited you to my place."

"Beats the last time I was here," at Faith's look, he clarified, "Little to no chance of you kicking me out in nothing but my boxers."

"Well, not yet at least," Faith said with a smirk, "Of course, I didn't beat the pants of you like I have this time."

"Ah, but you didn't beat the pants off me," Xander responded with a smile, "At the moment, my pants are merely around my knees."

"Well, in that case," Faith lifted up her hand, "Prepare to be spanked!"

She brought her hand down.

"A7!"

"Miss," Xander replied casually, placing his white piece into the slot, "B9."

"Miss," Faith chorused, "So, seriously, are we gonna do it?"

"Maybe," Xander replied, amazed at his own ability to keep a straight face as he said that, "For right now, I wanna kick your ass in Battleship."

"Oh, please, if I were to toss these boards down and jump you, you wouldn't have a damn thing to say about it," Faith smirked.

"Well, I'm sure I'd have something to say," Xander retorted, "Course, it'd probably come out as a moan, but I'd still be technically saying something!"

Faith chuckled, "C3."

"Hit," Xander replied morosely, "D6."

"Miss," Faith laughed, "So, Xander Harris, you are skipping school to play Battleship with your friend who happens to be a dropout. What's up with that?"

"School sucks," Xander explained, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Besides, the teachers don't give a shit. It's more convenient for them to just mark me present and pass me through than to actually try and hold me back."

"The teachers aren't too fond of you, I'm guessin'," Faith said.

"Well, I didn't win any points when I ate the school's mascot," Xander said with a smile, "Add to the fact that Snyder hates us all, you get a recipe for discontent all around."

"True," Faith said, "C4."

"Hit," Xander sighed, "You sunk my battleship."

"Me and B are hookin' up for patrol tonight," Faith said, "You want in?"

"Really," Xander asked, "Sure, why not. Think Buff will mind?"

"If she does, screw her," Faith said glibly.


	9. Chapter 9

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.

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"We're late," Xander said as he and Faith walked through the cemetery.

"No big, B can handle it," Faith said, and she pointed to a crypt, "I think that's it."

"Door's open," Xander said quietly, looking at the ground.

"Think B's in there," Faith asked.

"If she is, she brought friends," Xander said, still staring at the ground.

They both looked up as they heard the crypt doors creak open, and they got down and hid behind a statue.

"I can take 'em," Faith whispered to him.

"Priorities," Xander exclaimed, "We're outnumbered, and we need to find out if they got Buffy."

Faith growled quietly, but nodded all the same. As soon as they moved past them, the two sprinted for the crypt, finding it deserted. The two searched around for a moment, with Faith noticing the opened tomb. She looked inside.

"No amulet," Faith said.

"Let's check this one," Xander indicated the other one, "I need Slayer strength for this."

"Wussy," Faith mocked him, earning a finger from Xander, "You promise?"

"Faith," Xander groaned as he tried to push the slab off.

"Oh, alright," Faith said, and she easily pushed it off.

As she did so, a foot leapt out of the crypt, striking Xander in the head and sending him down to the ground. Faith reacted and made to punch the person inside, but she caught a glimpse of who it was before she did so.

"B," Faith asked.

"Faith," Buffy gasped as she stood up from the crypt, "Thank God, it's you…and Xander!"

Xander moaned on the floor as Buffy came beside him, with Faith not a step behind.

"Are you ok," Buffy asked as Xander tried to sit up.

"I think so," Xander said, sounding more like 'I dink tho.'

"Man, your nose is bleedin' bad," Faith said, and she gently fingered it, earning a loud cry of pain from him, "Feels like it might be broken."

"What were you even doing here, Xander," Buffy asked, "Didn't we talk about fray adjacent?"

"B, get over it," Faith advised, lifting Xander up, "C'mon, let's get you to the library."

"No, no," Xander objected, "I'b dine, bet's ust go ge dat abulet."

"Xander, no, you need to get back to the library," Buffy said, "Faith, take him, I'll go get the amulet."

"No way, B," Faith objected, "You ain't goin' after six vamps armed with swords, no chance in Hell. Either we all take Xander back, or we all stay, one of the two."

"Doe, det's kit arcuin dand go ge dose sons of itches," Xander said.

"…Alright," Buffy groaned, "But, you stay back."

The three quickly left the crypt, finding no sign of the vamps.

"Where'd they go," Buffy asked.

"Dere," Xander said, pointing to the open manhole cover.

"Alright, Xander, you stay topside," Buffy said as they headed over to it.

"B's right," Faith said before he could object, "Those vamps will smell the blood on you before we can get the drop on them."

"I ot an dea," Xander said, pulling out a gun, "'Aire un!"

"What," Buffy asked.

"Flair gun," Faith said, getting it, "We draw them out, he blinds 'em, and we pick 'em off."

"…I like it," Buffy said, "We're goin' in."

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Greg woke up with a pounding headache, like he had spent the night drinkin'. He groaned out and tried to reach up and massage his head, but he found that his hands were bound. Groaning, he opened his eyes.

"…The Hell is this," Greg demanded, looking up at Jack, Kyle, and Heidi as they smiled down on him.

"Your initiation, bro," Jack said with a grin.

"The fuck's wrong wit you," Greg snarled out, "Let me outta these things."

"Oh, poor baby," Heidi whispered as Kyle came behind him to untie him, "You want out?"

Before Kyle finished, Heidi reached out and stroked his face. Greg didn't know what the Hell was going on, but he knew enough to know that this girl was seriously fucked up. As she went from one side of his face to the other, she backed away, then almost casually backhanded him, sending him to one side as he felt one of his teeth loosen.

"Bitch," Greg spat blood at her.

"You want me," Kyle and Jack backed away as Heidi extended her hands, inviting him, "Come get me!"

Greg was up in an instant, running for Heidi with the intent of making that bitch pay. Suddenly, he stopped. He felt…odd…

His last thought before IT invaded him was that he would tear this bitch apart.

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Jack watched dispassionately as Heidi continued to break his friend. He ordinarily wasn't in the business of killing his friends in this manner, but Harris had pissed him off, and he had killed his friends in ways that made sure they weren't coming back.

"He's ready," Heidi said as she and Kyle flipped the broken Greg onto his back.

"Right," Jack said and he walked forward, kneeling down beside his friend, and casually slipped his knife into his heart.

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"Hold still," Faith said as she continued to pack the gauze into Xander's nose, "Jesus, you're a whiney bitch, aren't you?"

"Duck bu, Baith," Xander said, holding the ice up to his head as he did so.

"You couldn't even if you wanted to, boytoy," at his look, she clarified, "You'd pass out from blood loss."

"…Duck bu," he repeated, leaning back in his seat as he did so.

He and Faith were at the Bronze. After disposing of all but one vamp, he and Faith had came here to get some medical attention for his nose and face while Buffy tracked the last vamp. Xander at the moment had the amulet in his jacket, but they were hoping Buffy could track this last vamp back to their hideout so they could finish them off.

"That was a good trick with the flair gun," Faith complimented him, "You took out a vamp with it."

"Blah," Xander said.

"What," Faith asked.

"Blah," Xander said, "Beberdind."

"Oh, my God, Xander," Faith was almost pushed to the side as a redheaded hurricane came over, "What happened? Were you out fighting? See, this is why we told you not to go out on patrols, you'll get hurt, then killed, then…well, there's really nothing after that, but you get my point."

Xander would've tensed up at Willow's presence, but at that moment, he was too tired to give a damn.

"He's alright," Faith interrupted Willow as Oz came over to see what was going on, "B just knocked him for a loop."

"Buffy did this," Willow said in disbelief before turning to Xander, "What did you do?"

"Duck bu," Xander moaned, clutching the ice to his head.

"What," Willow asked in confusion.

"Xander was with me when we went to that crypt with that necklace thing," Faith clarified, smiling at Xander as she did so, "We opened up a tomb that Buffy was hiding in, and she kicked him in the face cause she thought he was a vamp."

"Oh…" Willow said, "Well, still, you shouldn't be out on patrol. Look what happened."

"Duck bu," Xander replied.

"What're you saying," Willow asked, "I can't understand you."

"He's saying 'thank you,'" Oz supplied, though from his wink, Xander guessed he got the meaning.

"Oh," Willow said, "Well, you're welcome."

"Hey," they all turned as Buffy joined the crowd, "You ok there, Xander?"

"He's fine," Faith supplied, "You just busted him up a little. I set his nose, so all he needs is rest and some happy pills and he'll be good."

"Great," Buffy said, "Sorry about the nose, Xander."

"Blah," Xander said, waving her off.

"But, this does kinda add to my whole slay adjacent-" Buffy started.

"'Uffy," Xander interrupted her, "But upt!"

"Ok, ok," Buffy said, "I'll stop," she turned to Faith and said, "I tracked down that vamp. They're hiding in a warehouse with this big demon in desperate need of a Stairmaster."

"Hit 'em up," Faith asked.

"Not tonight," Buffy said, "Too tired. We'll hit 'em tomorrow night."

"Cool," Faith said, "If we're done here, I'll drive Xander home."

"Dank bu," Xander moaned as Faith lifted him up to his feet.

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"Baith," Xander asked as Faith pulled into her hotel, "Dat idn't by bome."

"I know, X," Faith said as she got out the car, "C'mon, ain't no way I'm letting you spend your night with a broken nose without some happy pills."

"Bu aft some," Xander asked as he followed her into her room.

"Yep," Faith said, "I may be a Slayer, but even I get injured at times. Here," she tossed him a pill bottle, which he missed and bent down to pick up, "Take two of those."

"Deah, bight," Xander said as he sat down on the bed and opened up the bottle, taking six of them.

"Damn, X," Faith said as she took away the bottle, letting him lie down on her bed, "Those things are strong enough to affect me, what d'you think they're gonna do to you?"

Her answer was his snore.

"…You son of a bitch," Faith laughed.


	10. Chapter 10

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.

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Jack looked outside the window as daylight began to come over the world. He looked around as Julio and Greg began to fight each other, more like wrestle with each other.

"Quit it," Heidi ordered, and the two immediately stopped, staring up at her in subservience and adoration.

"Today's the day," Jack said, turning to Heidi, "You start with cookies, I'll keep an eye on his friends."

"Right," Heidi said, but before they could do anything, someone started pounding on her door.

"Barrie," the voice of her landlord called out, "Your rent's been due for a day, bitch!"

Heidi smiled a sadistic smile at him and said, "You go ahead. I'm gonna get some breakfast."

Jack nodded and he opened the door, revealing a large man dressed in a white wife beater with purple sweatpants and a pair of flip-flops.

"Rent's due, bitch," the man said as he entered the apartment, only for Heidi to grab him and toss him to the floor, where he was promptly surrounded by the other three hyenas.

"I'll see you in a bit," Heidi said, and she leapt onto her former landlord with a snarl, biting deep into his face.

Jack casually walked out the door, closing and locking it as he did so, ignoring the man's screams.

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Xander opened his eyes, wincing in pain as the light assaulted him. He gingerly opened his eyes again, groaning out as his face hurt him.

"Mornin'," a voice to his left said, and he gingerly turned over to see Faith, lying next to him, dressed in nothing but a pair of panties.

"…I'd think this was that dream again, but my face doesn't usually hurt during a dream," Xander said, noticing that his speaking was back to normal.

"You passed out after you took _six of my pills_," she said, extending her fist to him, "Only two this time, ok!"

"Ooh, gimme," Xander said, swiping the pills from her hand and swallowing them, "…So…you're naked."

"Correction," Faith said, "Half-naked."

"Big difference," Xander said, feeling the pills starting to affect him.

"Looks like the swelling's gone down," Faith said, examining him, "Think you're good for school?"

"…Pretty," Xander said, extending his hand to reach up to the ceiling fan.

"I guess not," Faith chuckled, sitting up as she did so, "I'm gonna go the library and let the Scoobies know what's up, then I'll drop by here and make sure you don't swallow your tongue. Deal?"

"…Wow," Xander said, staring at her, "You're hot!"

Faith laughed at him and said, "Thanks, stud, you're not too bad yourself."

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Rhonda hit the wall in a painful thud, her head swimming as Heidi stood over her, easily carrying several boxes of her cookies.

"You're my secret weapon, sweetie," Heidi said with a devious smirk, "When he betrays me, I want you on my side."

Heidi turned her back on her and walked to the door.

"Remember," she called to her, "The zoo."

Rhonda groaned out in response, but Heidi was long gone by then. A half hour later, Rhonda managed to pick herself up, though she was unsteady as she moved due to what she believed to be a concussion. Groaning to herself, she pulled open her closet and grabbed the bag that she had prepared. She opened up the bag and pulled out a bottle of pills, a capsule version of her cookies, and took one pill, letting it affect her as she put the bottle away.

As she gathered the money she had made and her car keys, she decided which move she was going to make. Heidi wanted her at the zoo…so, she would be at the zoo…only, she would be at the zoo with the Alpha.

She leapt down the stairs with total disregard for her safety, climbed into her vehicle, and made a short list in her head of where she would be able to find Xander Harris.

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Jack watched as Harris's friends one by one filtered into the library at different times throughout the day. He was surprised to see that brunette girl Harris had been with only once, but figured she would be back later that night. He glanced at his watch, noting that there was only a few minutes left in class.

"Hey," he looked up as Heidi dropped down to his level outside the windows, "They there?"

Jack nodded, saying, "They need to leave soon enough. Think this'll be enough?"

"Should be," Heidi said, handing him three boxes of cookies, "Rhonda made them pretty strong, I tried one on the way over."

"Good," Jack said, "And Rhonda…"

"Is dead," Heidi said, seemingly regretful, "She would have been useful in the fight, but we have enough as it is."

"Right," Jack didn't believe her one bit, but went back to watching the library anyway, "We need to get them outta there."

"I'll handle that," Heidi said with a smile.

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Giles sighed to himself as he continued reading. School was so boring when there wasn't an apocalypse going on. Tonight, he and Wesley had agreed, Buffy and Faith would need to take care of Balthazar and end his threat to them. Of course, it had taken God only knew how much effort to convince the prat of Balthazar's continued existence.

He was roused from his thoughts, however, as Oz entered the library.

"Xander here," Oz asked, "We're supposed to have practice tonight."

"I thought his nose was broken," Giles said.

"No reason to not practice," Oz said.

"Point," Giles said, "Well-"

He was interrupted by a loud noise from the back. Turning, he was nearly knocked over as a blonde girl came barreling from the stacks with what he recognized as one of his personal books in her arms.

"Stop her," Giles shouted, and he and Oz took off after her.

Jack snuck in with relative ease. He placed the boxes of cookies on the counter, along with the note, and quickly left the library, leaving almost no trace of his presence.

A few moments later, Buffy and Willow walked into the library.

"I swear, Wills, I don't know anything more about them," Buffy said again.

"But, it's Faith, she's like, your sister or something," Willow said with a hint of jealousy, "You must know something about her and Xander."

"I swear I don't," Buffy lied again, turning to the table as she did so, "Hey, cookies!"

Buffy quickly opened a box of them and dug in, happy for the excuse to not speak. Willow examined the cookies thoughtfully and picked up the note that Jack had left.

"'Thought you'd enjoy the cookies before tonight,'" she read, "'I'll see you later, Xander.'"

"Score," Buffy said, thoroughly enjoying her cookie, "These cookies kick ass!"

"This doesn't look like Xander's handwriting," Willow muttered.

"Well, I did break his nose," Buffy reminded her, "Faith gave him some pills for the pain, so he probably just had her pick up the cookies as a way to say 'no hard feelings.' He probably was barely able to write the note."

"Point," Willow agreed, taking one of the cookies for herself, "Damn, that's a good cookie."

"Willow!" Buffy exclaimed, surprised at her language.

"Well, it is," Willow said.

At that moment, Giles and Oz came back inside, with Giles obviously in an irate mood.

"I can't believe you let her get away with my book," Giles said to Oz.

"If I do recall, I wasn't the only one chasing her," Oz reminded him.

"What happened," Buffy asked, not too concerned but curious.

"Some trifling bint of a woman came into _my_ library, invaded _my_ stacks, and took one of _my books_," Giles was positively livid.

"Which one," Willow asked calmly, not put off by his anger at all.

"Oh, um, one of the books on trans-possession," Giles said, "Makes me wonder what exactly she's up to."

"You're way too tense Giles," Buffy said in a mellow voice, "Have a cookie!"

"They've yummy in my tummy," Willow said giddily.

"Oh, um, where'd they come from," Giles said as he took one from her, biting into it, "Oh, my…this is a wonderful cookie!"

"Yeah, Xander brought them by," Willow exclaimed, "Or had Faith bring them by, I dunno…I love Faith!"

"What," Oz asked, surprised.

"Well, I mean, if she brought these cookies, she can't be that bad," Willow said.

Oz nodded, going along with her, and took one of the cookies in his hand and bit into it.

"…Wow," Oz said with an expression of happiness, "That's some cookie."

"Indeed," Giles said, feeling calmer by the cookie, "I must admit, I was a bit too concerned about the book. I doubt she'll be able to do any real harm with it."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed as she sat down, eyes half closed as she ate her tenth cookie.

ҲҲҲ

Faith glanced at her watch again as she stared at the warehouse from a nearby alley.

"C'mon, B, where the Hell are you," she whispered.

Her sister Slayer was forty minutes late, and Faith was beginning to get antsy. She had made sure that Xander was ok at her motel room, making sure to take her pills with her, and had made her way to the warehouse where Buffy had found Balthazar. The plan was to hit them tonight, but that plan was going down the drain fast.

"Screw this, I'm goin' in," Faith said, her anger getting the best of her.

"Faith," she jumped up and hefted her stake, only to pause as she saw who it was.

"Damn it, Fang," Faith said in anger, "Do you _want_ to wind up in a dust buster!?"

"What's going on," Angel asked, ignoring her question, "Where's Buffy?"

"Dunno, B's flaked on me," Faith explained, "We're supposed to hit Jabba the Hutt tonight, but she's a no-show."

"That's not like her," Angel said, his forehead creasing in thought, "We gotta go check on her."

"You can do that, me, I'm goin' to take care of business," Faith said, stalking forward.

"Faith, no, you can't do this alone," Angel objected, grabbing her by her arm.

Faith reacted by grabbing his arm and flipping him to his back, then squatted down before him with her stake to his chest.

"Listen up, vamp," Faith snarled at him, "I ain't B, I don't let no vampire touch me, understand? Now, I'm goin' in there, with or without you. So, either you gimme a hand or I might die! Comprende?"

"…Comprende," Angel said up to her, and she let him up, "Fine…you take that side, I'll go in through the other."

"Sounds like a plan," Faith said as she stalked away from him, "I'll see you on the other side."

Angel stared after her for a long moment before shaking his head and walking away.

ҲҲҲ

Heidi flipped through the pages of the book she had stolen, hoping that it was here. She paused, examining a passage that she thought might have what she needed. After quickly scanning it, however, she determined that it was of no help to her.

"Heidi," she looked up as Kyle came up behind her, a longing look on his face, "Jack called."

"One minute," she snarled at him, and Kyle backed away in fear and subservience.

Cackling to herself, Heidi went back to the book. She flipped several more pages until she came across an interesting passage. Smiling to herself, she committed it to her memory.

When it came time, she would come out ahead…for once.

ҲҲҲ

"Tonight," Wilkins said, circling around the seated Mr. Trick, not unlike a shark, "Is a very important night. Tonight is the beginning of the Hundred Days, where I am effectively immortal."

Wilkins laid his hands on Trick's shoulders, causing the vampire to noticeably tense up.

"Nothing," he said, "Must interfere with tonight. Tonight, you shall go to them and kill them all…understand?"

"Yes, Sir," Trick said.

"Good," Wilkins said with his chipper attitude returning, standing up away from him, "Get to it, then."

"Right away, Sir," Trick said, standing up and practically running from the office.

ҲҲҲ

Jack and Heidi strolled into the library, side-by-side, with Kyle, Julio, and Greg behind them, each with shark-like smiles on their faces. They were the smiles of predators who had cornered their prey, cats who had found the mouse hole, knowing that it was only a little longer before they were fed.

"Take her," Jack pointed to the redheaded girl, and Julio grabbed her up, cradling her in his arms.

"And just what, pray tell, is going on here," the five turned around, facing the front of the library.

Trick was standing there, with four vampires behind him, each of them dressed up in suits.

"None of your business, vampire," Heidi snarled at him in her animalistic voice.

"You must be O'Toole," Trick said, ignoring her, causing her to growl in anger.

"And you must be dead," Jack said, and the five animals closed in together as Julio unceremoniously dropped Willow to the ground.

"There's no reason for violence," Trick said, even as his boys lined up beside him, obviously preparing for a fight, "We're all reasonable monsters, here. There's no reason we can't be civil."

"Beg to differ, vamp," Jack snarled, and he withdrew his knife.


	11. Chapter 11

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.

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"When he rises, you'll have wished I'd kill you all," Balthazar said in one final huff, before dying.

Faith rolled her eyes at the message of doom, having grown far too used to them. She turned around as Angel came up behind her, obviously worried.

"Now can we go and find Buffy," Angel demanded.

"Yeah, let's go find B," Faith said, stalking off towards the exit, "At least then I can bitch at her for ditching me."

Angel frowned after her, but shrugged it off, more concerned with his one and only than anything else.

ҲҲҲ

Xander walked into the library with a huff, groaning out as he breathed through his nose by accident. He had run out of Faith's happy pills and was currently using an ice-pack to keep his nose in check, as it had swelled up again during the night.

"Giles," he said without looking around, "Do you have any…"

He paused, staring down at the floor, which was covered in dust. He looked up and stepped back in shock.

Lying on the library table was a Hispanic man, his neck bent at an odd angle that shouldn't be possible. Giles, Buffy, and Oz were each lying on the floor, having been brutally beat in some fashion. Xander quickly rushed over to them and pulled them onto their backs, then checked for a heartbeat.

"Thank God," he muttered to himself as he got up and ran for the telephone.

"I'm telling you," he paused as he heard someone talking loudly down the hallway, "She did not ditch you."

"Yeah, well, we'll see," another voice, one he recognized, said in return.

"FAITH," Xander shouted.

"X," she shouted back, and Faith and Angel both ran into the library, coming up short as they saw the destruction, "Oh, shit."

Angel made a beeline for Buffy, kneeling beside her body to check on her while Faith ran over to him.

"What happened," Faith asked, turning away from him to check on the others from where she was, "Who did this?"

"Dunno," Xander said, dialing, "But judging from the dust, I'd say we gave as good as we got. Yes, hello, I need an ambulance."

"Xander," Angel called.

"Hold it," Xander said, "Yes, we're at-"

"What is it, Fang," Faith asked as Xander continued giving directions to the ambulance.

Angel handed her a piece of paper and Faith took it from his cold fingers, read it, and felt herself go cold.

"X," she called out.

ҲҲҲ

Heidi glared at the being in the center of the circle. Kyle and Greg were each behind the girl, outside the circle, staring at her as well. Jack, however, was on the inside. She was tied up to a chair, her mouth bound and her eyes taped over, but her ears were naked. Jack was sat before her, leaning his body down to look up at her as he scraped his knife against her chair, causing her to squirm every time she heard it and even moreso whenever the blade caressed her skin.

"There was a time," Jack was saying, "When you and I were equals. When I could go to school and sit and not pay attention, and when you too could do the same. I would make F's, you would make A's or B's or whatever, but it was all the same. We were equal, and we didn't take more from each other than what was expected."

The girl called out against her gag, but Jack scraped her leg with his blade and she silenced herself.

"That time has passed," Jack said with a cold smile, one which Heidi was quite sure the girl could hear, "Your friend, Harris, made that pass. He changed the rules when he took my friends from me, and when he took my Katie from me."

She protested against her bonds again, and this time, Jack reached up and removed the gag.

"You're a liar, Jack O'Toole," Willow said to him, "Xander would never do anything like that!"

"Really," Jack said, "Just like he would never do anything with that black-haired temptress?"

Willow remained silent.

"Why, it wasn't even a week ago that I saw them come out of her room, all hot…and sweaty…" he paused for a moment, then leaned in and licked Willow's chin up to her eye, causing her to cringe, "And sticky."

She kept silent, but Heidi could smell the change in her. She could smell the anger…and the tears.

Jack could see the tears coming under her tape, but did not acknowledge them. Instead, he placed his knife gently against her face, causing her to stiffen.

"I'm not gonna touch you," Jack whispered to her, "You're here for us, and maybe…for yourself."

Jack leaned away from her, still smiling as the tears fell freely from behind the tape, running down her face.

"He took my friends…he took Katie from me," Jack said, "And he took you…didn't he?"

Willow said nothing…she didn't have to.

ҲҲҲ

"Jack," Xander muttered to himself later at the hospital, "That bastard."

"You iced his crew, didn't you," Faith asked, earning herself a shocked glance from Angel and a nod from Xander.

"I should've known he'd be back, the bastard," Xander sighed, turning his attention back to the ambulance, "At least he only beat the crap outta them."

"That doesn't explain the vampire dust, though," Angel pointed out.

"No time to worry about that," Xander said with a sigh, "All we know is that Jack and whoever he's got working with him drugged and beat them to send a message. He wants me to meet him at the Bronze for a fight at midnight, so we have…one hour to figure out where he is and rescue her."

"How in the fuck do you plan on doing that, X," Faith asked, "He could be anywhere in Sunnydale, and that's not a small amount of ground to cover."

"Um," a frightened voice in the back called, "I think I c-can help you w-with that."

ҲҲҲ

Rhonda sipped on her water as she came to a stop with her story. She had included everything she could think of, starting from when Heidi had came into her home and ending with Heidi's declaration that Rhonda would be her secret weapon.

"So, it's Jack, Heidi, Kyle and one other dude," Xander said, thinking hard, "And only Jack isn't possessed…well, thank God for small favors."

"So, you were possessed by a hyena," Angel asked, still somewhat lost as he hadn't been around for the events of two years back.

"We were," Rhonda answered for him, not liking him for reasons that she couldn't understand, "It was…"

"Horrible," Xander finished for her, and she found herself nodding along with him, that submissiveness from being around him coming back to her, "So, we've got four people to deal with…the Scoobies were unconscious when we got there, but they were sitting…why would they put them into a seated position?"

"Excuse me," a nurse came behind them, "Are you with Rupert Giles?"

"Yes, we are," Angel answered, coming up to her.

"Well, it looks as though Mr. Giles was either the victim of a drugging or was a heavy user," the nurse responded, giving him a withering look, "Are you aware of any-"

"Giles does not do drugs, ma'am," Xander replied, looking sternly at her.

"Well, then, tell me another reason why his toxicology reports came back saying that he'd taken a near-lethal amount of GHB," the nurse replied scathingly.

"…The cookies," Rhonda answered, looking shaken.

Something clicked in Xander's head.

"In the police reports, amongst the evidence, they found boxes of cookies. Have them tested, and you'll see that they were drugged," Xander informed her.

The nurse scowled at them, obviously not believing him.

"Just do it," Angel said to her, his eyes beseeching her.

Finally, the nurse nodded, and walked away, trying to decide if she would do it or just call the police and have them placed underneath their custody.

"Jack drugged them somehow with your cookies," Xander said with a sigh, "You got them from a guy named Ted, didn't you?"

"How'd you," Rhonda began, but Xander cut her off.

"It doesn't matter. Right now, we need to figure out what we're gonna…" Xander trailed off, a thought coming to mind, "Has anyone called Willow?"

Angel and Faith shared a look, followed by shaking their heads.

"She wasn't with them," Xander said, "…They took her."

Rhonda unconsciously backed away and fled into herself, feeling his rage from where he was. Angel could smell it recognizing the quiet rage as the same that had come against him over a year ago, when Buffy had gone to face the Master. Faith saw it in his eyes, and for a brief moment, felt a spatter of jealousy enter her mind, wishing that someone would care that much about her one day.

And, perhaps, something more.

ҲҲҲ

Jack stared out from behind Willow, with Greg and Kyle behind him, and Heidi off near the bars, smiling that cocky smile as she idly stroked her stolen book. All their eyes were on the entrance, and their noses were alert, smelling them coming from a mile away.

Finally, Xander entered with Rhonda a half-step behind him, obviously quite scared.

"Harris," Jack greeted him with a snarl.

"Jack," Xander returned quietly.

"I want my knife back."


	12. Chapter 12

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.

ҲҲҲ

"I told you to leave," Xander said with a sigh, ignoring his remark about the knife.

"I don't obey you, Harris," Jack returned, smiling a sycophantic smile as he did so, idly stroking Willow's throat as he did so. She was quivering from fear in the chair, causing it to shake slightly.

"Touch her and you shall die," Xander snarled, pulling Katie out, earning himself a longing look from Jack.

"Fuck off, Harris," Jack said in return, still smiling, "You don't have the guts."

"I got more guts than you," Xander returned, "I proved as much last time we met."

Jack became uncomfortable at that, but quickly recovered.

"You like the quiet," Jack pulled out his own knife, "Well, you're about to get a lot of it."

Heidi, unnoticed by all, looked around, smelling around her for a long moment, until she smiled as she targeted the smell. She slunk from her place near the cage, settling herself into a corner, and opened her book, searching it for the passage that she had marked earlier.

Jack lunged for Xander, and Xander dodged, allowing Jack to fly out of the circle and into the main hall. Kyle and Greg ran forward, intending on helping Jack in his fight, but a dark figure fell from the sky into their path.

"Sorry," Angel said, punching both of them simultaneously, "We don't let animals stay in the building."

Faith came out from her spot, inwardly wincing at the bad pun, and quickly got behind Willow, cutting her bonds loose.

"It's ok, Red," Faith said comfortably to her, "I'm gonna get you outta here."

As soon as Willow's bonds were loose, the redhead quickly pulled off the ropes and stood up, getting all of them off her body.

"…Thanks," Willow said as she turned to Faith, "I hate being caged."

"No prob," Faith said, grabbing her arm, "But now we gotta-"

She didn't get any farther, though, as Willow grabbed her arm and flipped her onto her back. Faith felt the air rush out of her lungs as she hit the ground hard, then felt Willow land on her chest, forcing more air out of her.

"What," Faith tried to say, only for Willow to grab her throat and squeeze it much harder than she should have been able to.

"You bad girls," Willow said, easily grabbing Faith's arm and pinning it down, "Always strutting your asses in skanky dresses and getting the guy…well," her eyes flashed green, "Guess who just got bad."

_Oh shit_, Faith thought to herself.

ҲҲҲ

Jack and Xander got up to their feet quickly, and each stared at the other, Jack crouched down, ready to pounce, and Xander stood slightly straighter, his hand grasping Katie with an ease that did not reach his eyes.

"You're scared," Jack said with a feral grin.

"No shit," Xander said, his voice oddly calm, "But that doesn't mean I won't kill you."

"You forget," Jack said, "I'm already dead!"

Jack lunged, and Xander dodged to the side, but Jack twisted around and made for another attack on his chest, intending on driving the knife home to the heart and ending the battle. Xander managed to deflect the blow with Katie, but in the process was cut along the arm by Jack's knife.

"First blood," Jack taunted.

Xander responded by kicking Jack in the stomach, and he drove both his hands and the hilt of the blade down into Jack's kidneys, bringing him down to the ground. Xander kicked him in the side while he was down for good measure, then dove down, intending on driving the blade into his back.

Jack, however, rolled away, and quickly came back to his feet. He kicked Xander in the gut, forcing the air out of his lungs. Jack went for another stab to the chest, but Xander managed to lift himself away from the blow, causing Jack to overreach and lose balance. Xander aimed a kick for Jack's shin, intending on bringing him down and ending the fight but Jack managed to rebalance himself at the last moment and bring himself down on Xander's leg, stabbing him as he did so.

Xander gave out a pained growl, falling to his back as he did so. Jack got on top of him and pinned him to the ground, ripping out the knife as he did so, and ground the blade into his throat.

ҲҲҲ

Angel snapped Kyle's neck with the ease and practice of a being who was used to death. He easily tossed him into Greg, sending the possessed undead stumbling away. Angel pressed his advantage and attacked Greg with a furious series of punches, but Greg countered this with punches of his own, one of which caught Angel squarely in the jaw, sending him to the floor. Greg leapt upon him, intending on ripping his head off, but Angel managed to toss him off of him. Both were back to their feet relatively quickly, and Greg went for another tackle, but Angel caught him up and, after a moment's worth of hesitation, sank his fangs into Greg's neck, sucking the dead blood away from him.

ҲҲҲ

Faith hit the ground with a thud, and Willow was on her again.

"Xander's mine, bitch," Willow snarled at him, "He's mine!"

Faith tried once more to get out of her predicament, but Willow held on tight.

"You gave him up," Faith snarled at her, trying desperately to loosen the redhead's grip, but her strength was more than Faith could maneuver with.

"To get Oz back," Willow snarled, "Xander's mine, and Oz is mine!!"

"You can't have both, bitch," Faith said, and Willow snarled in anger, letting go for just one second, intending on punching her squarely in the face and breaking her nose.

Faith, seeing the opportunity, used her loosed grip to shift her weight, switching places with Willow and pinning her to the ground. Faith let loose, sending rights and lefts into Willow, blind with rage. Finally, her senses came back to her, and she stared down at the battered girl below her. Willow's nose appeared to be broken, and her face was a mesh of bruises. She was still conscious, however, and was glaring up at Faith.

"He's mine," Willow growled in pain, "Bitch."

ҲҲҲ

Heidi saw all these things going on, and she felt fear come up into her body. The vampire had already killed Kyle, and was killing Greg. The other Slayer had pinned down their newly converted redhead, and Jack was about to finish the Alpha off. Either way, it was a loss for her. She was supposed to kill Xander, and Jack would have to be finished, along with the vampire and the Slayer, so that she could continue to roam free. She had no delusions that they would let her live, not with her being dead and her being possessed. It was time to bring in her backup plan.

She looked back down at the book and read quickly, her thoughts focused on Rhonda.

ҲҲҲ

"You killed my friends," Jack snarled into Xander's face, careful not to cut him just yet, "You killed them for good. My friends! And you took my knife…my Katie from me."

"You like that knife a little too much," Xander whispered, cautious due to the knife.

Jack chuckled and said, "She's too good for your blood to go on her. I'm gonna carve you up and feed you to those jackals, boy, like a big ole turkey on Thanksgiving."

Jack would have continued, but something grabbed him and threw him off of Xander with such force that he landed against the wall, painfully, causing him to see spots for a moment as his vision left him.

"You will not harm him," Rhonda said to him.

"Rhonda," Xander asked.

"Shh," she turned to him, a new confidence in her voice, and she smiled, her eyes flashing green for a moment, "You are Alpha, and I am yours."

"…yay," Xander said quietly, very concerned for her safety.

She smiled again, and turned away from him, intending on dealing with Jack. Instead, the undead man lunged for her, and she was caught off guard just enough for him to be able to embed his blade into her side. He tossed her off of the blade, and turned on Xander. No words were spoken, for Jack simply lunged at him, intending on ending his life. Xander ducked down, barely evading the blade that would have ripped his throat open, and simultaneously lifted Katie up.

Jack landed on the blade, driving it deep into his abdomen, penetrating his liver. Jack had a look of surprise on his ace, the same look of surprise that had come to him when he had first been killed. It was the shock that came from receiving a wound that would undoubtedly lead to death.

"She's yours again, Jack," Xander said, and he drove Katie deeper into him, twisting as he did so.

Jack died quietly, not speaking a word. Xander eased him off of his body, groaning as he let go of Katie, his hands sticky with his blood. He pushed Jack away from him and moved away, his thoughts now on Rhonda.

She was lying on the floor, breathing steadily. He crawled up to her and examined her wound. It looked as thought Jack had merely scraped her side, but he wanted to get her to a hospital as soon as possible.

He saw her out of the corner of his eye look up at him and smile, saying, "My Alpha."

"Shh," Xander said, "We're gonna help you."

ҲҲҲ

Heidi ran as fast as she could. She had made a fatal mistake in her plan to use Rhonda to end the battle in her favor: she had failed to make certain that Rhonda thought of her as her Alpha, and as a result, when she had had Rhonda repossessed, Rhonda had thrown her lot in with Xander.

She had escaped at the last moment, and had every intention on escaping for good. She had failed in her attempts to take down the Alpha, but that didn't mean that she had to go down with the rest of her pack.

So, she ran.

ҲҲҲ

Xander sighed to himself, watching as the doctors explained the situation to Angel. It still irked him to have been forced to work with that bastard, but bygones were bygones when it came to keeping his friends safe.

Willow had a broken nose, along with multiple bruises and knife wounds left over from Jack. Rhonda would make a complete recovery, thankfully, but she was forcibly sedated when the paramedics had arrived, as she had been attempting to eat Willow at the time. Thankfully, though, they had the book that they would need to get rid of the possession, but until then, she was a hyena…again.

All his friends were alive and well, thankfully. There was one thing that was bugging him, though.

"Faith," Xander said, and the dark-haired teenager turned to him, coming out of her daze as she did so, "What's wrong?"

"Aside from the fact that I had to beat up Red and was damn near eaten by a possessed bitch, nothin'," Faith said, her voice betraying her discomfort.

"Are you sure," Xander asked, really concerned for her.

"Yeah," Faith said, still too quickly, but Xander eased off, not wanting to agitate her more than the night already had.

Both went back into their respective thoughts as Angel came up to them.

"Buffy's awake," Angel informed them, "But the rest are still asleep. Willow should make a full recovery, as should the other girl, but we need to exorcise the hyena as soon as possible."

"Yeah," Xander said, "Think you can handle it?"

Angel nodded, saying, "I've performed a few exorcisms in my time. I'll perform it tonight, and hopefully it should go alright. If not, I'll let you know."

"Good," Xander said, groaning as he came to his feet, "Willow's awake?"

Angel nodded.

"I'm gonna talk to them for a moment, then go to sleep on the couch," Xander said, turning to Faith as he did so, "You wanna come?"

"…sure."


	13. Chapter 13

Smells Like Teen Spirit

Summary: One thing changes on the path back home for Xander. Begins at the Zeppo episode.

ҲҲҲ

Willow stared at the wall for a long moment, hoping that she would not speak.

"…When Xander was possessed, he acted on his desires," Faith spoke suddenly, drawing a shudder out of her, "He acted without thought for the consequences, without concern for others save himself."

Faith walked over to Willow, standing above her, and the redhead stared at the wall.

"Freud said that the id was the wanting desire of a person, the thing in us that wants to eat, sleep, and fuck to our hearts' desires," she said, "The hyena is the id…and what you said about both Oz and Xander being yours was your own desire…you want them both."

Faith bent down in front of Willow, getting into her personal space, causing her to back up into her pillow.

"Xander loves you," Faith informed her, "And you left him because you couldn't make up your mind about which one to take. So, you want him available for you, at all times. We have a name back home for girls who do that shit…we call them skanks."

Willow cringed at the accusation, but said nothing.

"You will respect his choices, and you will not try and get him back," Faith said, "The only reason why I'm not telling either Oz or Xander about this is because they'll figure it out on their own."

Faith abruptly moved away from her, walking back to the door.

"You have Oz," Faith said, her back turned to her, "For however long he lasts. Be happy with that much."

"…Xander's not yours," Willow said weakly, trying to attack her.

Faith shrugged and said, "No, he's not. But he'll never be yours."

She opened the door and walked outside.

"He's too good for you," she closed the door behind her, leaving Willow to her thoughts and tears.

ҲҲҲ

Buffy walked back into school that Monday, tired, but happy. Willow seemed to have come to terms with Xander and Faith's…whatever it was, and she had recommitted herself to Oz, which pleased the musician to no end. Xander had been spending most of his time with Faith, which Buffy thought was very good for both of them. They seemed…happier together, not quite buddy-buddy happy, and not quite 'love' happy either. Either way, they were good for each other, and it made her happy to see that.

"Ah, Buffy," Giles greeted her that morning, his face bruised still from the fight that had ensued, "How are you doing after last week's events?"

"Pretty good," Buffy said with a smile, jumping to sit upon the counter where Giles was organizing his card catalogue, "Considering that we were all drugged up to our eyeballs for almost half a day."

"Indeed" Giles replied, frowning at that, "I must say, for hyenas they had a rather inventive plan to go from."

"Eh, all I know is that they were dead, and are dead now," Buffy said with a grin, "Except for that one girl, Heidi. What happened to her?"

"She fled after the battle, we believe," Giles said, "I suspect we've seen the last of her for a while."

"Yeah, most likely," Buffy agreed, coming off the counter as she did so, "So, wanna train?"

"Oh, must we," Giles asked with a childlike angst.

"Yep," Buffy said, far too perkily, "I'm very rested from that drug, and I need to burn off some excess energy. Break out the pads!!"

"Oh, God," Giles moaned, dreading the workout his arms and chest were about to receive.

ҲҲҲ

"What're we eating today," Faith asked with a grin as she hopped into Xander's car.

"Something that won't make my jaw or nose hurt," Xander said with a moan, "I'm still sore from Jack's punches, and I don't have Slayer healing."

"Oh, poor baby," Faith cooed, "Want me to kiss it and make it better?"

"That depends on what you intend to kiss," Xander said with a smirk.

"Whoa," Faith laughed, "Nice comeback from the X-man."

"I try," Xander replied, sighing as he did so, "Hey, Faith, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, what's up," Faith said, curious.

"Well, um," he seemed nervous now, and that made Faith all the more curious, "There's this dance going on at the Bronze next week, and little thing they're doing for Valentine's day, and I was wondering if you'd…maybe…wanna go…with me?"

Faith stared at him for a moment, causing him to squirm slightly, before shrugging and saying, "Sure."

"Really," Xander said in disbelief.

Faith moved quickly, got into his face, and laid a quick but steamy kiss on his lips, saying, "Really really."

ҲҲҲ

Heidi woke up with a groan. She had made it to the outskirts of Sunnydale when she had been cornered by a group of vampires. She had managed to dust three of them, but the last four had taken her down. Now, as she examined her surroundings, she saw that she was in a large office, with pictures of politicians and all sorts of official looking documents on the wall.

"It was once said that children are the future," she looked up at the desk and saw, to her surprise, Mayor Richard Wilkins, "I see the way children act today, and I shudder at the future."

"What is this," Heidi snarled at him, "What do you want!?"

"Children have no respect for their elders in this day and age," Wilkins said from behind his desk, looking down on her, "Now, this is not just a problem with the children, nor is it entirely their fault either. Parents are supposed to discipline their children, to teach them and guide them on the road to adulthood."

"What the fuck is this-" she started again, only to be backhanded by some invisible force, sending her to the floor.

"Children are not wise," Wilkins went on as though she had said nothing, "They are stupid, but this isn't of their own doing. Parents fail their children far too often in today's world. Your parents failed you, and now look at you. A murderer, and urchin, wasted potential on the streets, trying to gain petty vengeance."

Wilkins stood up from his desk and walked around to her, and Heidi shrank back in fear, knowing that he had more power than he let on.

"Oh, it's ok," Wilkins said, squatting down in front of her and lying a gentle hand on her face, smiling as he did so, "You've been given a great opportunity here. You can change yourself for the better. And you can kill them all, and fulfill your potential."

"Kill them," Heidi whispered, not daring to believe what she was hearing.

"Yes," Wilkins smiled that same smile again, "I'm offering you a place at my side, a job, if you will. Imagine it, Ms. Barrie…gainful employment, a pension plan, an apartment paid in my name…along with Mr. Harris's and his friends' heads on platters."

"I like the sound of that," Heidi said, her stomach growling.

"I know," Wilkins said with a grin, "Now, what do you say, my dear? Do you accept my offer?"

Heidi stared up at him for a long moment, then she smiled a hungry smile.

ҲҲҲ

A/N: I didn't think this one would go into another part, but it did. Sorry about how long this one took, but it took a long while to write itself.


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